How about this for Social Security Reform

[Tony_FLADEM]

I think the benefit should be changed. Instead of getting a check every month for the rest of your life, how about having a system where the benefit would be an investment i.e. a mutual fund, interest yielding bond, CD, etc.

The government would save money overall, and citizens would have an excpected benefit, and ownership in something that could be passed down.

If the recipient dies, and passes on the investment, only the income yielded from the investment would taxable to the donee.

That would be the general outline. The additonal details would need to be worked out.

[SharonAnn]

1. More than few details would have to be worked out.

Remember that Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Income) pays disability no matter how young the worker who is disable and no matter how many years must be paid.

Also, it pays survivors including spouse and dependent children when a worker dies no matter how many years and no matter how many children.

It's more an insurance policy than a savings plan so if you're going to change it to an investment plan, how are you going to provide the insurance?

Then of course you have the whole issue of how do you cover today's obligations to current retirees?

[Winamericaback]

2. mutual fund IE stock market

no no, we don't NOT need to be putting government funds into the stock market... it did crash once.. does nobody remember that?

This is just what the Republicans want, the ability to play with more money while they get richer and the regualr people loose out in the end.

An interest bearing Cd is okay of course the interest on Cds now are a joke.

[SharonAnn]

4. And the government will insure the CDs in case the bank fails?

Gosh, you could buy government bonds directly for guaranteed income. Wait, Social Security is already doing that with the current surplus?

Hmm, maybe we don't need to do anything.

Listen up! THE SYSTEM ISN'T BROKEN!

This is all the right-wing "Mighty Wurlitzer" putting out lots of stories about needing to "save" Social Security. They're also putting lots of stories out about switching to a "Consumption Tax" that would be simpler and more fair.

You don't really believe all this, do you?

Why would the wealthy all of a sudden be worried about protecting OUR Social Security? Why would they be worried about helping us out with a more fair tax system?

Answer: They're not! They're interested in diverting more of our money into their pockets and in lowering or eliminating all of the taxes they pay.

They're thieves! Robbers! Crooks! All of them!

[unblock]

3. the whole point of social security is to have a guarantee of monthly cash

the entire point is that people who worked all their lives should not be on the street homeless just because some investments go sour or other ill fortune strikes them.

sure you can have a "too bad" attitude if you work all your life, retire at 65 (er, 67) and take it as an investment, make a bad investment decision (possibly pushed by swindlers) and lose it all, then be out on the streets when you're 68.

no, cash each month is exactly the right thing. people can make investment decisions with their own retirement money. don't jeopardize the retirement insurance portion of peoples' portfolio.

[Inland]

5. I guess you are talking about:

1. calculating what the person would receive, actuarily, from SS in terms of present value at retirement age
2. giving him that amount by the government borrowing money today in hopes it would be repaid later with higher taxes
3. hoping the person doesn't live longer than expected, since it was old people running out of money and starving that led to social security as an insurance program in the first place (its going to happen if you have people dying and passing along the benefit--think about it) and
4. the system still going broke, since it doesn't either increase the amount going in or decrease the amount going out.

I have a plan too. Leave it alone. Worst case scenario is that it can only pay 75% of current benefits. All the cures I see are worse than the disease.

[Liberaltarian]

7. yup.

if they make ANY changes, the first one should be to remove the wage cap.
that alone will extend the life of the trust fund.

[Inland]

And raise taxes. Me, I would raise the retirement age

if only because people in fact work longer.

Used to be "retirement" was a euphenism for "too old to work". 63 was that age, back in the thirties.

Now "Retirement" is a euphenism for "leisure time". Social security's purpose in insuring for those who can't work due to age has been lost when health, and the less physical nature of today's work, means many who take SS still want to work.

Raising the retirement age two months for every year from now to whenever may do it.

Other than that, I say just let it go, and let it pay 75 cents on teh current benefit dollar. All the other cures are worse than the disease.

[Inland]

9. And raise taxes. Me, I would raise the retirement age

if only because people in fact work longer.

Used to be "retirement" was a euphenism for "too old to work". 63 was that age, back in the thirties.

Now "Retirement" is a euphenism for "leisure time". Social security's purpose in insuring for those who can't work due to age has been lost when health, and the less physical nature of today's work, means many who take SS still want to work.

Raising the retirement age two months for every year from now to whenever may do it.

Other than that, I say just let it go, and let it pay 75 cents on teh current benefit dollar. All the other cures are worse than the disease.

[Liberaltarian]

6. what about the disabled?

I was forced into "retirement" and onto Social Security at age 38.

[Warpy]

8. Social security is INSURANCE, not an investment scheme

The problem with your scheme is that it would leave retirees who now count on social security to survive without it. The problem is also that you're about to find out that the stock market can go down as well as up. Anyone who's counting on the stock market for a well off retirement is in for a very rude shock.

Social Security was set up as a pay as you go program for a reason. For one thing, it was set up to kick in immediately for the many destitute elderly who were wiped out in the Depression stock market crash. For another, it was set up especially for women, who outlived their husbands and the pensions that died with them.

If you want to invest in the market, nobody is stopping you. Just keep your paws off the only guaranteed retirement income most of us who are older boomers will have.

[Inland]

10. And two points to remember about insurance:

1. Money spent on insurance isn't wasted because the insured condition doesn't happen.
2. Assuming people are intelligent about risk, social security is the "secure" part of a portfolio. If turned into an investment, much of this social security "investment" wouldn't end up in the stock market but be put in safe, boring government instruments, right where it is now.