Bill Roper's Journal

Suggest you look at sdorn's post on Social Security, dated 11/11. I haven't investigated the plan he refers to, but I respect sdorn's opinion.

For another point of view, see tomdoespolitics's post dated 01/08.

I don't know enough about social security to have an informed opinion. Are the following statements correct?

The "Social Security Trust Fund" has no assets. Some government accountants keep track of how much "money" is "in" it. Social Security currently has net positive cash flow, but we spend this as fast as it comes in, to reduce government borrowing. When we talk about the federal budget deficit, we usually talk about how much money the government borrows. Because we will need the money coming into the Social Security system to pay future benefits, we are actually understating the budget deficit by the amount of net Social Security cash flow.

My POV on this issue is biased due to the fact that my retirement is secure because I manage my retirement funds myself in a 401(k) and other investment vehicles, but I recognize that the primary function of Social Security is to provide a safety net for everyone, not to maximize the opportunity for profit at the risk of leaving some people penniless.