My last post mentioned the coming Social Security crisis: we'll have lots more retirees with fewer people working and paying into the system. As a result, it is almost inevitable that the system will go bankrupt.
Here's an important reminder: Social Security is retirement insurance! It is not a savings account. People who don't need it shouldn't be collecting it. Just like I can't collect on my life insurance if I'm still alive. Or get a payment from my health insurance policy if I'm healthy. Social Security is a safety net to insure that poor senior citizens don't go hungry or end up homeless. We will not keep the system solvent if baby boomers with 401ks and healthy pensions and bank accounts collect just because they paid into the system. They were paying an insurance premium that covered the costs of retirees at that time. Someone needs to explain this to the American people. We'll understand.
Asking retirees with sufficient means to support themselves to accept the fact that they will not get Social Security benefits to pay for their green fees is the first step toward a solution. Then we should start talking about other options like pushing back the age of retirement and, possibly, increasing the payroll tax. I know - that's a tax increase. But we have to pay our bills somehow, don't we?
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