When I put my money in the bank, they don't write my name on the specific bills I give them, put them in a vault and give me back the exact same bill I put in years ago.
When I pay taxes into SS (a bad deal for most workers by the way) what they give me is a claim against future SS taxes.
While the truth is that they squandered the SS Trust Fund long ago, I still have a valid claim against SS and their current income. Only the government can legally operate a ponzi scheme like this, but they can and do. I also realize that they can change my claim at the whim of Congress, but there are political consequences which resist this.
So, it is as much "my" money as a bank deposit. (As we have seen in Cyprus and other select countries, bank deposits can easily be taken by government.)
Sorry, you neither ‘paid in’ nor are you getting ‘your $’
If it WERE your $$, you could get it back whenever YOU wanted, like your banking analogy.
There is NO way to win this war/debate when ‘we’ cannot even get the terms correct. SS is a taxing Ponzi welfare scheme, nothing more, nothing less.
Is this a serious post? Because if the argument’s about whether SS has to give you back the very same bills you never gave them in the first place then yes, I concede. Back in reality, people put their money into what are known as “demand deposits,” which, as implied by the name, entitle you to your money back upon demand. Because of this receipts can be traded as currency unto themselves. Various things can get in the way of this: bankers hours, fees, this, that, and the other, but in the meantime the bank keeps track and pretends your money’s in the vault. Granted, with fractional reserve banking 9 out of 10 or so dollars belong to two people at once, and should there be a run on the banks they’ll fail and you might not get your money back. But that’s not what we’re talking about.
SS taxes, meanwhile, go into a pile with the rest of federal revenue, are spent, then years later you may or may not get something back if they feel like it. The very idea that there’s more than a hypothetical connection between taxes and benefits when benefits are paid from the general fund and our federal government is several trillion dollars in debt is laughable.
“the truth is that they squandered the SS Trust Fund long ago”
The truth is there was no trust fund. That’s yet another thing they made up to trick you into supporting socialism.
“As we’ve seen in Cyprus...”
As we’ve seen here they can abrogate contracts at will. You might as well argue they can outright steal from us, as they’ve done, at gunpoint. But that’d make a poor argument for SS benefits somehow being your property. Call it the “hey, there’s no such thing as property anyway, sp be thankful for what they give you” argument. SS benefits aren’t like bank deposits, face it.
“what they give me is a claim against future SS taxes”
Can I see this claim? Did you get it in the mail? Would a judge admit it as evidence should you be forced to sue?
By the way, what if there are no future SS taxes? For you, specifically? Not an idle question, given our 17+ trillion dollar debt.
It’s a Ponzi Scheme only if you’re defrauded. In your case you should say only government can take money from you at the point of a gun, and we should be grateful for every cent they’re kind enough to flip back.
“While the truth is that they squandered the SS Trust Fund long ago,”
They haven’t squandered it. SS has always been a pass through program, with current SS taxes matched to current SS payouts. At one time SS taxes had to be adjusted yearly but IIRC during LBJ they began purchasing Treasury bonds with any excess money taken in.
Your analogy of how a bank works is a good illustration of how the SS system was designed to operate.