You are correct that the pieces were in place, but that doesn't mean we had to utilize those pieces.

if ss is bust will welfare and food stamps be bust too?

when it all blows up will we go back to capitalism or will people claim socialism can work if we just tweak it a little??????????????????????? I will likely be dead by then but I am curious as to what will come out of the ashes.

food stamps is USDA

Back to a few of the OP questions. I have a son that was born after 1982 and is very successful in his career. He makes more money then I did after 35 years in my profession. So I would say not all born after 1982 are dead beats.

Don what you are talking about is a myth. I see hippie put a link to a story about how this worked. I'll explain how it worked as best as I know. FDR sold the scheme as an insurance program where your money was put into an account for your retirement. It has always been a flat tax with a cap. Any excess money collected over the ever changing payout program has always been used by the Federal government to fund other parts of the Federal government. They could just spend it, but they play a convoluted game where they say they borrow it from themselves. In the late 60's I believe they changed how they account for this by adding this amount borrowed( that the government owes itself )to the Federal national debt number. This accounting change is where people think the Federal government starting robbing the social security trust fund (which really never existed). They always spent any surplus tax revenue. Nothing has changed in this regard, but all the other parts of social security (that people think they got a fixed deal with the Federal government) change constantly. It is an open ended contract forced on you.

P.S. If it hadn't been for FDR's court packing scheme (basically blackmail), SSI would probably have died in the Supreme Court back in the 30's.

Overthrow the gov't.

doesn't matter bigfoot. its all the same fund and source of revenue. every federally collected tax, no matter the name of the tax, goes into one pool that politicians pump out of.

Before anyone gets mad at me, I'm not all that young and hopefully be retired with in the next 10 12 year but "we had a deal"? Bah!

The boomers made a deal with themselves. Promised themselves unfunded liabilities and are expecting their children to pay for it. Deal? Great deal except for the last guy holding the bag. [/quot

Yes, we had a deal....I, as a Boomer, didn't make it, but I lived up to my end of it all my working career....most of which I was self employed and paid double (15+%) the SS payroll tax as anyone that worked for wages for another person/company. It was a deal, fair and square, and I will be loading my pitchfork if they try to screw with my share. 49'er....I ain't mad at you or anyone else. All I am doing is belly-aching about the government. That's what retirees do!

I'll venture the guess that it depends on how you look at the Gov't.

If you look at the gov't and its agencies as one entity, then yes, the money goes to one fund.
If you seperate them, then no, moneys goes to SS seperate.

There is no there other truthful way to look at government than to realize they are all one entity. As George Carlin said, it's a big club and you aint in it. Unless younare.

Well I'm a boomer as well and not the least apologetic for being able to take some of my funds put into the program over my life ! As I was not able to vote for or against it and nothing was ever done since my birth to change it, I have to accept the fact that it's not going to be replaced until it's dead, so I'm using it !

Those who complain about it should just not take it and let others use what they may have gotten out of it, seeing as they feel so terrible about having the program in place to begin with !

I see alot of those who complain about it being a Ponzi scheme, but don't see any of them doing any thing to change the program in place, they still pay into the program, they still sit on the window sill and complain about doing so, but not one of them do any thing to change.

So until it's changed, replaced, moved out of Ponzi land, I'm taking it for what I paid into it, and will not apologize for doing my forced part in having it, I'll just force my self to use it. LOL

Well we will just call it a "shell game" to go along with "Ponzi scheme".

"a deceptive and evasive action or ploy, especially a political one."

I'm like grit. I was forced to pay in and I'm going to use it

The plate jugglers at the central bank may be able to keep juggling for a long time yet. I don't know. I think collapse is inevitable though. If for no other reason than the ratio of producers to consumers is changing in the wrong direction. I suppose the fact that what one person can produce keeps increasing has an effect also on how many consumers a producer can support.

I am just a truck driver and fur trapper. Lots I don't know about economic manipulation. I know too many rats in a pond will cause a bunch to immigrate and get ate by coyotes on their quest for a new cattail bog. I suspect there will be a big reduction in humans one of these days. Either from war or drought or disease. War could possibly be the result of an economic collapse. Economic collapse could likely be the end result of socialism.

Like Grit, I will use it as well when the time comes.

Unlike Grit I don't think it's our children's responsibility to repay all the money the greatest generation, boomers and gen xers borrowed. I will gladly take a cut if it's necessary and will support candidates who want to do away with the program.

Danny, a fiat based economy doesnt care if it's run by liberals or conservatives. The end result will be the same.

Bush and Obama should have ripped the band aid off instead of bailouts and borrowing.

You can request to have your employer not take out SSN funds. You can contact the federal government and request that you do not want to contribute to the SSN system. You can then invest those funds for yourself. You will not receive SSN or Medicare if you choose this option. For those that are strongly opposed to the government system why you have not done this I don't understand. I did taxes for at least two workers who made this choice. I don't feel it is wise but then it is their life and yours as well.

Bryce

I am not ready to become Amish.

Not just anybody can opt of SSI. If we could the program would have been tits up a long time ago.

I was looking at the SS webpage a few years ago. Intended to do just that. All of the info I could find says that you cannot do that anymore.

OK when did you look? The last tax filing doing that for me was 2007 or 2008. He worked on a dairy farm as an at will employee like many are now with no unions or work contacts etc. I will do some checking on the date that law may have changed. I know the option was on the table while the discussion under younger Bush when they were investigating allowing private investments for younger SSN payers for a portion of their payments.
Below is a brief link on who can opt out and who can not. Yes the list has been trimmed considerably since I had last looked.
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/020315/there-any-way-opt-out-paying-social-security.asp

Bryce

"The law is very specific about the requirements for exemption from the Social Security program, and most taxpayers do not qualify. But yes, exemptions do exist for a small number. Certain religious groups, students, U.S. citizens who decide to forfeit their national citizenship, employees of foreign governments and self-employed workers who make less than $400 annually are all examples of taxpayers who are not responsible for paying Social Security taxes. Of course, since they are exempt, they are also ineligible to receive any Social Security benefits."