Simple Solution to Social Security

from PolMach Forums
Ok I have what I think is a very simple solution to social security. Now understand this is just a very rough outline and the finer points would have to be decided later but here is my idea.

Keep it the same as far as how much money the employee and employer pays, but instead of the employer sending the money into the gov't. have the employee choose a bank of their choice approved by the gov't. Have the employee set up a social security account that he will be able to be somewhat flexable as to what it is invested in (all that can be determinded later). Now this becomes the employees own account that he can't touch until retirement age, say 65 or 67. Now this keeps the money out of the hands of the gov't so that they can't spend it on other things instead of what it was to be used for. It would help the economy because all the money would now be going to banks and they will in turn be able to lend more and so on. So it would help out the private sector. Now of course there would have to be a cut off age somewhere as to who would stay on current social security and who will start a new account of their own. Just a very basic idea of mine. What do you think? I mean it could be something as simple as an annuity. It don't mean that it would have to be invested in dangerous and risky investments. Thanks for listening to me.
politics
3,138 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hmm thats possible. Create a government retirement bank with interest that accrues and little bit of that goes to government to maintain it.
Reply #2 from PolMach Forums Top
Let me say first that I am not a fan of the current SS program, but.

I am a very strong believer that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Now lets remember why President Roosevelt started that program in the first place. In 1928 the world economic market took a nosedive. The U.S. at one point had about 35% unemployment, people's investments & life savings were wiped out, banks closed up never to repay people who had money in them, and people who had thought they where set to live their elderly lives in comfort, found themselves standing in soup lines. Because of this great crash President Roosevelt instituted the Social Security program to stop this from happening again.

The biggest fear I have is privatizing Social Security. Why? If a great crash happened once it, will happen again to the economy (sooner or later). Many people say that it can not happen again because of all the protections we have built to stop it. Bull... Just a small taste is what happened to mean people when the Tech. bubble burst. I personally know of two people, due to bad advice, lost half of their investments, forcing them to delay their retirement by at least four years. If you were an old Enron employee I am sure that you’re glad that SS is still there. What happens when rampant inflation hits?

The market has its ups, downs and even crashes. Short of a major overhaul in our economic system, there is nothing that a sitting President can do about it. If you allow half the people to invest their SS money in the private sector and everything goes south, do you really think the Government will let them starve. I do not think it would be very fair for people who kept the old system (or some newer like type) to bear the burden of those who wanted to gamble with their money.

I am more then willing to look at good ideas on how to reform the SS system. But to throw my SS money into a private system that has been shown to fail, no way buddy. It was built as a safety net and I want to keep it that way.

PS: Background info: I myself have invested 20% of my income since I was 20 into the private investments, purchased my own home, have a future 50% retirement pay, and I did it all with only a high school diploma and $16.32 to my name when I left home at 18. I plan on retireing with my investments in 5 years at the ripe old age of 39.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top

You forget that SS is not just for retirement. There's disability and widows bringing up children.

Nevertheless, it's healthy thinking.

Reply #4 from PolMach Forums Top
I've got another solution for social security. The problem is that the age people draw out of it hasn't changed since it was started. You can take money out of social security when you're 63 (correct me if I'm wrong). This wan't a big deal when social security was started because the life expectancy was below 63, so a lot of people didn't draw out of it. Now the life expectancy is in the 70's and everyone is drawing out of social security. A way to fix this is to say that everyone who is currently under 25 can't draw out of social security until they're say 75 (this number could be changed so that is always slightly above the life expectancy). That wouldn't effect people already on social security or soon to be on it. It wouldn't solve anything in the short term, but at least in the long term social security wouldn't be such a burden.