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thoughtcrimeboss
@thoughtcrimeboss
Social security is the world's largest ponzi scheme and is doomed to fail. Currently you can only opt out of the program if you meet very specific criteria such as religious exemptions. Everyone should have the right to opt out of both paying into SS and collecting benefits. Most people can do a better job of managing money than the Gov can and the opp. cost of paying into SS is high. Imagine if you could of just used the $ you have paid into SS to DCA into BTC or even stocks. It's time to phase this inefficient socialist program out. With fractional shares and no commissions, investing is easier than ever and we would be better off if we could just invest this $ for ourselves. Thanks to real inflation being much higher than the official numbers, cost of living increases to SS payments have not kept pace with reality, making it very hard to live off SS alone. Anyone want to try to convince me that this program is sustainable? https://reason.com/2024/11/18/social-security-approaches-its-day-of-reckoning/
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Jared 🎩
@javabu.eth
I can't see a world without SS. There needs to be a safety net for the elderly.
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thoughtcrimeboss
@thoughtcrimeboss
For one we treated our elderly way better before SS, now we just dump them in crappy nursing homes the first chance we get. A world without SS existed less than a century ago. First SS checks went out in 1940, so for the majority of American history there was no SS checks for the elderly and I've never heard any stories of hordes of starving old people from pre SS days. There was a statistically significant increase in mortality during the great depression among the elderly but considering the circumstances I don't think that alone justified this scam. If people get to keep the money that is being stolen from them and invest it themselves (even if you are still forced to pay into a self directed retirement account rather than SS), the net increase in wealth will lead both an increase in charitable giving and less poverty among elderly. The churches and non profits will help care for the ones that slip through the cracks. Net positive for sure. I know people want to save everyone but mass theft isn't the way.
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Chainleft
@chainleft
- Pre-SS people died earlier. We only had a few decades between health revolutions and SS introduction and those decades humans were trying to solve this very problem - Post-SS economy boomed. Clearly not a scam - Charity & donations don't work. Anand Giridharadas shares a lot of data on this in his book The Elite Charade of Changing The World However enforced self-directed retirement account sounds interesting. I remember reading GiveDirectly's reports where direct funds where people decide what to do with them tend to bring better results than pre-decided/programmed alternatives.
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Jared 🎩
@javabu.eth
Valid points. I have no doubt that families, churches, and nonprofits would help care for those that slip through the cracks. That being said, giving a benefit is very different than taking something away. Our elderly and those soon to retire have lived their lives assuming they would receive SS. Our economy/care economy and family structure is also very different than what it was pre-1940. I agree that SS is a ponzi and will get worse as we continue to increase life expectancy but I don't see how we can/will make a significant change. It's also a top voting issue for the elderly. Should we look at fixing it? Yes. Will we? I can't see it happen. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1693/social-security.aspx
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