Can we save Social Security?

[Jezcoe]

@Guvnah

@Borgia_dude

Doesn’t the SSA already invest their surplus in Treasury bonds?

Not privatized accounts. That’s what I was addressing. Privatized accounts don’t have to be subject to Wall St. uncertainties.

But the Social Security Trust Fund holds US Treasuries.

How would moving that to private accounts change a thing?

[Borgia_dude]

@Jezcoe

@Guvnah

@Jezcoe

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

It doesn’t have to be Wall St. though. The entirety of privatized fund could be put in US Treasuries or Bonds. Guaranteed income. As safe as the USA. There is plenty of US National debt to cover all privatized accounts. Let the US worker hold our national debt, not foreign entities.

How is that different than what we have now?

Yeah, one of the goals of privatization is to increase the rate of return versus the current SS. If you’re investing in the same type of investments it isn’t likely that you will improve returns, especially in light of the fees.

[Jezcoe]

@Borgia_dude

@Jezcoe

@Guvnah

@Jezcoe

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

It doesn’t have to be Wall St. though. The entirety of privatized fund could be put in US Treasuries or Bonds. Guaranteed income. As safe as the USA. There is plenty of US National debt to cover all privatized accounts. Let the US worker hold our national debt, not foreign entities.

How is that different than what we have now?

Yeah, one of the goals of privatization is to increase the rate of return versus the current SS. If you’re investing in the same type of investments it isn’t likely that you will improve returns, especially in light of the fees.

And the Social Security trust fund holding US Treasuries is a shell game anyway. The trust fund holds almost $3 Trillion of the US debt.

What is the value of a debt that we owe to ourselves?

[gooddad409]

@SixFoot

If only we had partially privatized it when we had the chance. lol

Isn’t it interesting that SS is held to such a different standard than the freebie programs?

If SS paid into by hard working Americans their whole lives doesn’t 100 percent pay for itself Pols and lefties look at it as it has to go.

On the other hand welfare, food stamps, section 8 housing, etc for in large part people who rarely work if ever (contribute nothing to it) and it is looked at as those programs HAVE to be maintained by hard working taxpayers.

Double standards and all that.

[zantax]

@Jezcoe

@Borgia_dude

I’ve been following the arguments about Social Security for many years and came across this article which sums up options for extending its life.

I’d be willing to compromise a bit from where I used to be when I opposed privatization. I’d be willing to privatize a portion of SS with some small amount to cover subsistence and the insurance would be a reasonable compromise.

I’d also agree to extending the tax to high incomes. I don’t support the wealth tax proposal in the article nor do I support increasing the age of retirement.

How can Social Security be saved?

Raising the income cap on the payroll tax will go a long way to getting it into solvency.

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

Oh please, it could privatized into rock solid low risk investment funds and still beat the pants off SS dismal return on investment easily.

[Jezcoe]

@zantax

@Jezcoe

@Borgia_dude

I’ve been following the arguments about Social Security for many years and came across this article which sums up options for extending its life.

I’d be willing to compromise a bit from where I used to be when I opposed privatization. I’d be willing to privatize a portion of SS with some small amount to cover subsistence and the insurance would be a reasonable compromise.

I’d also agree to extending the tax to high incomes. I don’t support the wealth tax proposal in the article nor do I support increasing the age of retirement.

How can Social Security be saved?

Raising the income cap on the payroll tax will go a long way to getting it into solvency.

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

Oh please, it could privatized into rock solid low risk investment funds and still beat the pants off SS dismal return on investment easily.

Up until the point Wall Street burns the world down again.

[Guvnah]

@Jezcoe

How is that different than what we have now?

Privatized accounts.

[zantax]

@Jezcoe

@zantax

@Jezcoe

@Borgia_dude

I’ve been following the arguments about Social Security for many years and came across this article which sums up options for extending its life.

I’d be willing to compromise a bit from where I used to be when I opposed privatization. I’d be willing to privatize a portion of SS with some small amount to cover subsistence and the insurance would be a reasonable compromise.

I’d also agree to extending the tax to high incomes. I don’t support the wealth tax proposal in the article nor do I support increasing the age of retirement.

How can Social Security be saved?

Raising the income cap on the payroll tax will go a long way to getting it into solvency.

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

Oh please, it could privatized into rock solid low risk investment funds and still beat the pants off SS dismal return on investment easily.

Up until the point Wall Street burns the world down again.

You realize we are discussing this because government has brought it near the point of insolvency?

[Borgia_dude]

@Guvnah

@Jezcoe

How is that different than what we have now?

Privatized accounts.

We have been discussing ways to make SS solvent. (One way) To do that, you would need better returns on investment than current. If you get the same return, you haven’t increased the solvency of the program.

[TommyLucchese]

@Borgia_dude

I’d be willing to compromise a bit from where I used to be when I opposed privatization. I’d be willing to privatize a portion of SS with some small amount to cover subsistence and the insurance would be a reasonable compromise.

Um but what about 2008? The Great Recession? It proved how foolish privatization is an idea. Imagine it happens again, took three, four years to recover but this time not only are all your investments worthless or at least can’t be withdrawn, but now your SS payments take a big hit too. Old people be dropping like flies.

[Guvnah]

@Jezcoe

How would moving that to private accounts change a thing?

Once the current crop of workers die off, and once all the retirement payouts are coming from the workers’ privatized accounts, there is no longer any federal obligation for the social security system.

[Jezcoe]

@Guvnah

@Jezcoe

How is that different than what we have now?

Privatized accounts.

I don’t see a difference in privatized accounts based on US Treasuries and the SS Trust Fund based on US Treasuries.

The results would be near the same… maybe even worse based on interest rates.

[gooddad409]

@zantax

@Jezcoe

@Borgia_dude

I’ve been following the arguments about Social Security for many years and came across this article which sums up options for extending its life.

I’d be willing to compromise a bit from where I used to be when I opposed privatization. I’d be willing to privatize a portion of SS with some small amount to cover subsistence and the insurance would be a reasonable compromise.

I’d also agree to extending the tax to high incomes. I don’t support the wealth tax proposal in the article nor do I support increasing the age of retirement.

How can Social Security be saved?

Raising the income cap on the payroll tax will go a long way to getting it into solvency.

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

Oh please, it could privatized into rock solid low risk investment funds and still beat the pants off SS dismal return on investment easily.

The proposal was you could invest up to 10 percent of your fund in the stock market. Not all of it.

The left never seemed to get that.

[Jezcoe]

@zantax

@Jezcoe

@zantax

@Jezcoe

@Borgia_dude

I’ve been following the arguments about Social Security for many years and came across this article which sums up options for extending its life.

I’d be willing to compromise a bit from where I used to be when I opposed privatization. I’d be willing to privatize a portion of SS with some small amount to cover subsistence and the insurance would be a reasonable compromise.

I’d also agree to extending the tax to high incomes. I don’t support the wealth tax proposal in the article nor do I support increasing the age of retirement.

How can Social Security be saved?

Raising the income cap on the payroll tax will go a long way to getting it into solvency.

Any form of privitization would be a disaster imo. There is no way that Wall Street should be given that much money to burn.

Oh please, it could privatized into rock solid low risk investment funds and still beat the pants off SS dismal return on investment easily.

Up until the point Wall Street burns the world down again.

You realize we are discussing this because government has brought it near the point of insolvency?

The issue has been ignored my entire adult life. There are many many many better paths to bringing it to solvency… like raising the cap on payroll taxes… than there is to privatization.

But… and to put on my conspiracy hat here… the point has never been to fix the problem but to keep breaking the program so that huge pile of money can go to wall street.

Okay… conspiracy hat is now off.

[Jezcoe]

@Guvnah

@Jezcoe

How would moving that to private accounts change a thing?

Once the current crop of workers die off, and once all the retirement payouts are coming from the workers’ privatized accounts, there is no longer any federal obligation for the social security system.

I am sorry… I don’t follow the logic.

I am not trying to be confrontational I really don’t understand.

[zantax]

Is there any difference between wall street and the government in terms of risk any more? Not if the government won’t let them fail there isn’t.

[Borgia_dude]

Another answer is to increase the percent taken out by half a percent.

[Jezcoe]

@zantax

Is there any really difference between wall street and the government in terms of risk any more? Not if the government won’t let them fail there isn’t.

Ding ding ding ding

So… they get a huge pile of taxpayer money on the front end and on the back end.

You see my objections now.

[Guvnah]

@Borgia_dude

Yeah, one of the goals of privatization is to increase the rate of return versus the current SS.

My point is to get the federal government out of the retirement business. No more concern about bankrupting the SS “trust fund”.

Privatize the accounts, and the employee owns his own retirement fund. It becomes part of his estate when he dies.

[zantax]

Might want to keep in mind that if you do away with the cap, you just incentivized every rich American to lobby to make it go away legislatively . Do the rich have any track record of getting what they want in America? Hmm, careful what you wish for.

Plus, you waited to long to do it, I am the last of the boomer generation at 59. None of them will have to pay it. Or if they do, not for very long. So thanks.