[ZenGum]

I remember reading PJ O'Rourke on this, writing in the early 90s.

Soc Sec skims some money, and "saves" it.

They can't put it in banks or, heaven forbid, invest it in the stock market. The only thing they're allowed to do with it is buy government bonds.

So the money ends up with the federal government, and the only legal thing they can do, it seems, is spend the bejesus out of it. Which they do.

So, come 2025 or so (or a lot sooner!) more retirees means money going out of soc sec exceeds money coming in, and they hit up treasury to pay back a bunch of those bonds.

Except, by that time, treasury is broke.

Good luck when that happens.

Don't bother getting partisan on this one, folks, this problem has been simmering away for more than 30 years, neither side has done much.



Oh, here in our hippy-fascist social utopia, wages and salaries include a compulsory superannuation contribution (at least 9%) which is deposited in a managed fund and then either (a) wisely and profitably invested in the stock market, (b) nibbled away at by admin fees and/or (c) blown on wild gambling on long-shot penny-dreadful mining stocks. Mostly (a), I hope.

This is in addition to (and meant to decrease reliance on) the age pension.