[nascarnation]

interesting comment

I paid into the SS system at the “limit” pretty much every year from 66 to 08.

I’ll have to make a spreadsheet and do that calculation.

After which I’ll probably throw up.

[Aevery_Freeman]

Every one of us should make the same calculation as should the government. Then the government should give us the equivalent amount in say land, mineral and other lease rights, buildings, surplus equipment and all the other things that they hold that they have no business holding.

Twofold benefit, people made whole and government reduced: win-win.

[eyedigress]

You won’t like it. The DOW average rate of return on 12.4% investment on auto reinvestment of earnings and losses during that span would be very good. The Dow average in ‘68 was 906.

[Hoodat]

Consider a person earning $10/hr (in real terms) their entire life without ever getting a promotion. That person loses $215 per month to Social Security taxes. Let's say that person had the option of investing that money instead from age 20 to 65 in a retirement account earning 6%. At age 65, that person quits working and begins to withdraw an amount from that account equivalent to 87.6% of his life-long wage (i.e. the same money he has been accustomed to living off of), then by age 80 that retirement account would have over $1 million sitting in it.

That's for someone making 1.3 times the minimum wage. For someone like yourself, you might have $4 or $5 million saved up.

[whd23]

	Max earnings	total employee rate	total employer rate	total self-employed rate	Employee & Employer	Self-employed
			$0.00	$0.00
1966	$6,600.00	4.20%	4.20%	6.15%	$554.40	$405.90
1967	$6,600.00	4.40%	4.40%	6.40%	$580.80	$422.40
1968	$7,900.00	4.40%	4.40%	6.40%	$695.20	$505.60
1969	$7,900.00	4.80%	4.80%	6.90%	$758.40	$545.10
1970	$7,900.00	4.80%	4.80%	6.90%	$758.40	$545.10
1971	$7,900.00	5.20%	5.20%	7.50%	$821.60	$592.50
1972	$9,000.00	5.20%	5.20%	7.50%	$936.00	$675.00
1973	$10,800.00	5.85%	5.85%	8.00%	$1,263.60	$864.00
1974	$13,200.00	5.85%	5.85%	7.90%	$1,544.40	$1,042.80
1975	$14,100.00	5.85%	5.85%	7.90%	$1,649.70	$1,113.90
1976	$15,300.00	5.85%	5.85%	7.90%	$1,790.10	$1,208.70
1977	$16,500.00	5.85%	5.85%	7.90%	$1,930.50	$1,303.50
1978	$17,700.00	6.05%	6.05%	8.10%	$2,141.70	$1,433.70
1979	$22,900.00	6.13%	6.13%	8.10%	$2,807.54	$1,854.90
1980	$25,900.00	6.65%	6.65%	8.10%	$3,444.70	$2,097.90
1981	$29,700.00	6.70%	6.70%	9.30%	$3,979.80	$2,762.10
1982	$32,400.00	6.70%	6.70%	9.35%	$4,341.60	$3,029.40
1983	$35,700.00	7.00%	7.00%	9.35%	$4,998.00	$3,337.95
1984	$37,800.00	7.05%	7.05%	14.00%	$5,329.80	$5,292.00
1985	$39,600.00	7.15%	7.15%	14.10%	$5,662.80	$5,583.60
1986	$42,000.00	7.15%	7.15%	14.30%	$6,006.00	$6,006.00
1987	$43,800.00	7.51%	7.51%	15.02%	$6,578.76	$6,578.76
1988	$45,000.00	7.51%	7.51%	15.02%	$6,759.00	$6,759.00
1989	$48,000.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$7,344.00	$7,344.00
1990	$51,300.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$7,848.90	$7,848.90
1991	$53,400.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$8,170.20	$8,170.20
1992	$55,500.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$8,491.50	$8,491.50
1993	$57,600.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$8,812.80	$8,812.80
1994	$60,600.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$9,271.80	$9,271.80
1995	$61,200.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$9,363.60	$9,363.60
1996	$62,700.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$9,593.10	$9,593.10
1997	$65,400.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$10,006.20	$10,006.20
1998	$68,400.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$10,465.20	$10,465.20
1999	$72,600.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$11,107.80	$11,107.80
2000	$76,200.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$11,658.60	$11,658.60
2001	$80,400.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$12,301.20	$12,301.20
2002	$84,900.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$12,989.70	$12,989.70
2003	$87,000.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$13,311.00	$13,311.00
2004	$87,900.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$13,448.70	$13,448.70
2005	$90,000.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$13,770.00	$13,770.00
2006	$94,200.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$14,412.60	$14,412.60
2007	$97,500.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$14,917.50	$14,917.50
2008	$102,000.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$15,606.00	$15,606.00
2009	$106,800.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$16,340.40	$16,340.40
2010	$106,800.00	7.65%	7.65%	15.30%	$16,340.40	$16,340.40
2011	$106,800.00	5.65%	7.65%	13.30%	$14,204.40	$14,204.40
Total					$335,108.40	$323,735.41