The Social Security Scam

       You’ve probably seen the email forward that suggests we are getting ripped off by our government.  Surprise!  The second time I got it I did the calculation and decided, “Pretty close.”  I forwarded it to my genius son who verified it.

       Assuming we averaged only $30,000 a year, had we bought an IRA that paid only 4 percent with the money our employers contributed to the Social Security trust fund over the 40 years we worked we’d have an $800,000 nest egg which would pay us $26,000 a year for 30 years, assuming we’d live to 95. 

The email ends, “The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madhoff ever had.”  My son says it’s worse than a Ponzi scheme, because “with a real Ponzi scheme you have a choice.  With Social Security you have a gun in your face forcing you to participate.  A Ponzi schemer, thief that he is, does not have the unlimited power of the government over his victims.”