CNN's view of where they stand on the issues...

[Plane]

If the Social Security System was a Ponzi scheme, which it is not, it would have gone bust decades ago, which it did not. You keep saying this, over and over, ad nauseum.

But it is not true, it is not even close to true. There is currently a lot more coming into SS than is going out. The trust fund, which receives the overages, is larger and larger with every passing year. When there is more need for funds, the government has an obligation to repay the Trust Fund, and pay retirees from that. When this is not enough, it has a further obligation to pay out of the general revenue.

Juniorbush's plan was to destroy Social Security, and make retirees subject to the whims of the stock market. This scheme was deduced by the people and it was rejected by the AARP and pretty much every organization concerned with the issue. The GOP has been trying to get rid of SS since it was first designed. Only Eisenhower and Nixon have not tried to screw it up in some way or another, but all have failed. And that is as it should be.

When trying to explain reality to you, one is reminded of the old saying. "Never try to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time, and annoys the pig."

You will learn to sing eventually.

I am about to create a trust fund.

Watch me.

I have here my check book , ..

I am writeing myself a check for eighteen trillian dollars, and fourty five cents.

As soon as I deposit this check I will have a trust fund bigger then the Social Security Administration , and just as secure.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I would more readily accept receiving less benefits  than paying higher premiums .

Matter of fact I would give up my benefits entirely if I could give up paying entirely , you can have the 40 years of contributions I have put in . OOps , no you can't they have been spent , every cent.

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You make over $97,000?

If you would give up your benefits for 40 years in return for paying a miserable 13% of your salary for the next five or ten years or so, one can only conclude that you are approaching dementia praecox.

[The_Professor]

That may be fine for you but I want higher benefits and I willingly pay more now in premiums when I have good wages. After all, I do not make over $97K like XO.

[Xavier_Onassis]

If you want better benefits, open a Roth IRA. You can invest $5000 per year this year, $6000 if you are over 50.
I have never received a salary of anything close to $97K.

If you do not take advantage of the Roth IRA, I suggest you have no real business kvetching about SS. With a good investment newsletter and a discount brokerage account, you can easily outperform the stock market by buying and trading  mutual funds wisely.

[Cynthia]

If the Social Security System was a Ponzi scheme, which it is not, it would have gone bust decades ago, which it did not. You keep saying this, over and over, ad nauseum.

But it is not true, it is not even close to true. There is currently a lot more coming into SS than is going out. The trust fund, which receives the overages, is larger and larger with every passing year. When there is more need for funds, the government has an obligation to repay the Trust Fund, and pay retirees from that. When this is not enough, it has a further obligation to pay out of the general revenue.

Juniorbush's plan was to destroy Social Security, and make retirees subject to the whims of the stock market. This scheme was deduced by the people and it was rejected by the AARP and pretty much every organization concerned with the issue. The GOP has been trying to get rid of SS since it was first designed. Only Eisenhower and Nixon have not tried to screw it up in some way or another, but all have failed. And that is as it should be.

When trying to explain reality to you, one is reminded of the old saying. "Never try to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time, and annoys the pig."

XO;

But what about the rumor that the SS system is not going to be alive and well by the time baby boomers retire full throttle, based on the idea that fewer folks will be working per retiree....and thus not putting the $$ into the system?

.....I am concerned that if we rely on the government alone to pay out all us BABIES a boomin', the SS system will be milked dry and quite frankly not even there eventually. DUe to the ratio of workers/ per reitrees.

Isn't it a good idea to take what we've earned and invest it in order to make a better future for ourselves?

Playing devil's advocate here....but just curious.