74novaman wrote:Maybe expecting the .gov to fulfill a promise wasn't the best retirement plan?
I am fully expecting any money I "pay into social security" may as well be going into a fireplace. I plan for my own retirement. Not going to trust the govt to keep their promises.
When it first came into being, the people getting the checks had never paid paid anything in. Those payments were funded by concurrent government taxes. The same thing is happening now. The current Social Security payments are funded by current federal taxes. The money the current recipients paid 30 years ago was spent 30 years ago. The money their parents or grandparents paid 60 years ago was spent 60 years ago. The "insurance" lie has been repeated for so long people believe it, but Social Security works the same as any other government wealth distribution. The people working now pay taxes to support people who aren't working now.
You're also right about believing government promises, as shown by the quote on the first page where the government promised the Social Security tax rate would never exceed 3% and they would only apply the 3% tax to our first $3000 of annual income. They promised that was the most we would ever pay.