McDowell's
Rookie
- Jul 27, 2010
- 883
- 239
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- Banned
- #141
Ponzi schemes are illegal regardless of whether the cops are called or authorities are aware of their existence. No analogy is required. You admitted social security is a ponzi scheme. As such, the system needs to be reformed to something sustainable. Saying the status quo works and at the same time admitting it's an inherently flawed system is completely contradictory. Just because the failure point is somewhere in the distant future doesn't mean the underlying issues shouldn't be addressed. The sooner they are addressed the less damage that will occur in the long run.
First up: When you're the one making the laws, you can set up a legal Ponzi Scheme if you wish and voila, it's legal. Technically murder (the death penalty), kidnapping (extraordinary rendition), and other government practices are illegal if committed by private citizens. That's because one of the basic tenets of government is that you surrender to the government the right to take certain actions on behalf of the citizens.
Second: I agree there are problems. Social Security is a machine, and like any machine it needs to be maintained and adjusted from time to time. There are reforms that could make the system run for the forseeable future, but there's no guarantee that even with reform there isn't some unforeseen wrinkle waiting in the wings.
I am glad we agree on the technical point regarding taxation and the error about the "My Money" approach to Social Security. I know I'd be open to privatizing and investing any portion of the Social Security piggy bank that wasn't immediately needed to pay out to beneficiaries. For example: If Social Security owes 1 billion in immediate payments to beneficiaries and collects 2 billion this year in taxes, by all means privatize and invest the left over against the future.
The question is how to privatize.
That's fine, I'm not here to argue the legality of social security as it currently exists merely the efficacy of the system. Having said that, just because something is legal does not make it right. And my point is the system in not right. There is a reason the government has outlawed ponzi schemes. They are fraudulent and by definition cannot last into perpetuity.
I agree there has to be a way to wind down the system and ensure people who have been a part of the system get the benefits they deserve. Privatizing 100% of the system immediately would be completely out of the question, and obviously some people would rather the status quo so let them have it.