Moreover, the average Medicare recipient reaps 3 times the benefits of what they paid in, with women reaping more than men (on the average). I expect to get a lot more out of my 401K than I put in too. That you get more out of a savings plan than you put in is the way it's supposed to work. There is a question of whether 3X is reasonable or it should be 2X, but the way you put it is overkill.
The problem is not that you get out more than you put in, but that the money you put in was never saved. It was spent immediately and a bill totaled up for your kids and grandkids to repay. It's the Ponzi aspect of Medicare and Social Security that is the flaw.
I do agree with you that the unearned entitlements are obscene, and wonder along with the other commenter why there's always enough money for welfare but not for SocSec.
I expect to get a lot more out of my 401K than I put in too. That you get more out of a savings plan than you put in is the way it's supposed to work. There is a question of whether 3X is reasonable or it should be 2X, but the way you put it is overkill. LOL. Medicare is not an investment portfolio. It is a pay as you go system where today's workers pay for today's retirees.
This graph shows that the average man and woman (average defined in the study as average income over their working lives and living to the average life expectancy) who start receiving benefits in 2010 get over 3 times more in benefits than they pay in to the system! Of importance, the study accounts for inflation by calculating all past taxes and future payments in 2010 dollars to provide an accurate comparison.
If the notion that Medicare recipients are simply "getting back what they paid in" is false then where is the money coming from? Simply, the excess received is being borrowed from younger generations and the cost is more than we can bear.
Did you know that, by law, the Medicare Part B premiums only cover 25% of the costs? The remaining 75% comes from the General Fund. It is the reason why Medicare will consume the entire federal budget if it is not reformed.