tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10883291.post8104045165468547083..comments2023-10-15T05:53:37.221-07:00Comments on St George Blog: Social Security is OverfundedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10883291.post-80096208090905719392008-07-10T09:36:00.000-07:002008-07-10T09:36:00.000-07:00I remember back when "privatization" was being dis...I remember back when "privatization" was being discussed. Someone on Hit'n'Run described the actual proposed program as "the accounts aren't yours like your car is, they're yours like the cubbyhole you were assigned in kindergarten" -- and they were right. It deserved to be opposed, I just wish it were for more realistic reasons.<BR/><BR/>The true problem with Social Security is two-fold, and largely political in nature: increases in life expectancy have dragged it from its original purpose as elderly welfare to a middle-class entitlement, and its funding structure is contradictory, though the political climate will never shift enough to correct it. It's amazing that they chose a sharply regressive tax to fund a program that in practice now subsidizes the retirement of people who made enough money to save plenty on their own. I don't support it, but if someone sincerely asked me how to save it, I'd suggest abolishing the payroll tax and shifting funding to another one, like a carbon tax or part of capital gains, and then index benefits so eligibility is based on income, returning it back to the purpose it was SUPPOSED to fulfill.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com