[2banana]

I'm 62 -- I have paid into this system every year since I was 16 years old, forced to do so by law. And now the government dictates when and under what circumstances my OWN MONEY can be returned to me. And if I die before I enroll for social security, I can't even leave that money to my daughter.

The "greedy senior citizens" to whom you refer have been forced to become activists to get any of their own money back. Thought you might be interested in hearing the other side.

Carolyn

#1 - You will get every dime you put into Social Security (plus interest) within 5 years of when you start collecting it. After that, it will be all welfare - or will you stop taking other people's money then? Didn't think so.

#2 - A young person today will never, ever see their money back. They will never break even. You Social Security checks are their Social Security payments today.

#3 - Social Security is a TAX. There is not "trust fund" and there are no personal accounts with your name on it. It was originally started to help the the elderly in absolute poverty (and only kicked in after the age of the average lifespan of an American). It was never designed or intended to be a national pension plan.

#4 - Greedy Geezers vote - That is why Social Security has never been cut and why it is expanded year after year. It will literally bankrupt our country - but seniors vote and they want more and more. And the politicians they vote deliver the goods.

[mandingo republican]

I always disliked "boomers".

The Clinton generation.

Remeber that G-d afwal show "30 something" with those horrible Yuppies?

DIE YUPPIE SCUM - as the commies used to say in NYC - at least they got one right.

[ichabod1]

#1 - You will get every dime you put into Social Security (plus interest) within 5 years of when you start collecting it. After that, it will be all welfare - or will you stop taking other people's money then? Didn't think so.

Where does this notion come from? I've been hearing it a lot lately. Let's see -- 60 months at $1200 a month is = $72000. That's about 10 years contributions, at best. This is a Big Lie.

[DustyMoment]

Good rant. Now let's look at some facts:

#1 - You will get every dime you put into Social Security (plus interest) within 5 years of when you start collecting it. After that, it will be all welfare - or will you stop taking other people's money then? Didn't think so.

Actually, we won't and we have known it since the 60s-70s. Given the so-called "drain" that retiring boomers will put on SS, it is likely that benefits will be substantially cut because the alternative, raising SS withholding, will cause younger generation folks, such as yourself, to tar and feather the politicians who vote to raise the tax, and the boomers expecting to collect it.

#2 - A young person today will never, ever see their money back. They will never break even. You Social Security checks are their Social Security payments today.

Yep, and you can thank LBJ (not a boomer) and his "War on Poverty" for that. It's the same reason that we boomers won't see our money back. Oh, and by the way, since you probably haven't noticed, poverty is still with us - all LBJ did was hand Congress the keys to the vault that ALL our money is kept in.

#3 - Social Security is a TAX. There is not "trust fund" and there are no personal accounts with your name on it. It was originally started to help the the elderly in absolute poverty (and only kicked in after the age of the average lifespan of an American). It was never designed or intended to be a national pension plan.

Wow, you are a plethora of information - most of it wrong. If you go back and actually read the Social Security Act, it was not established to help "the elderly in absolute poverty". That was just a good line that FDR used to sell the plan. SS was a money grab, pure and simple, by FDR and the leftists because they needed money to try to keep the government afloat. Fortunately, WW2 came along to bail them out because, if it hadn't, chances are that the whole US government would have collapsed and crumbled around their heads. And, since you are so wise, please help this befuddled old boomer understand how getting as much as 1.5% return on the money that Uncle Sam has stolen from ALL of us is a good plan? President Bush (another one of those boomers that y'all want to die and rot in hell), proposed a change to SS that would have allowed you control and direct up to 2% of the SS withholding the government confiscates. Y'all didn't go for it. You are aware that, on average, over time, investment in the stock market yields in the neighborhood of 10% per year ROI. Since y'all are so much smarter than boomers, how come you opted to stay with a plan that gives you a whopping 1.5% return? I thought we boomers were the dumb ones.

#4 - Greedy Geezers vote - That is why Social Security has never been cut and why it is expanded year after year. It will literally bankrupt our country - but seniors vote and they want more and more. And the politicians they vote deliver the goods.

The seniors receiving SS today who are getting all of these benes you're complaining about, aren't boomers. They are part of the Greatest Generation. Boomers are approaching retirement age, but the vast majority of us aren't there, yet. And, as I noted previously, I anticipate that Congress will have to sharply curtail SS benefits for the boomers because the labor pool from successive generations who will have to foot the bill, will have to pay a substantially higher SS withholding. Congress has put itself between the Devil and the deep blue sea and, my guess is, when the fiscal reality smacks them between the eyes, they will vote to cut benes. You guys are young enough to still hurt them - all WE can do is squash their feet with our wheelchairs or get in one good whack with a cane. With bursitis, we can't even throw an iPod at them!!

[CDHart]

within 5 years of when you start collecting it.""

Wouldn't like to place a little bet on that would you? I've been diagnosed with lung cancer -- looks like the govt. will win this one.

carolyn