Social Security and Morality

Dr. Walter Williams asserted that withholding money for Social Security from Americans' paychecks is an immoral compulsion by a government on a free people.

When the SSDI - Social Security Disability Insurance - fund was created, I do believe that the politicians had the citizens' best interests at heart. I do not believe that they could have fathomed what would happen to the funds being collected and held in trust. They were naive, and foolish, but not evil.

Of course, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and we have all seen what's become of this nightmare known as Social Security. Right now, 12% of my paycheck is taken from me to pay for the Social Security benefits being given to someone ELSE, today. By definition this is income redistribution - theft. What's worse is that the government, by giving MY 12% to my father (for example), is going to have to take that money from my children to give to me. But because the value of the dollar, combined with inflation, changes over time, my children will actually have to pay MORE than I do for my benefits.

It's a never-ending cycle.
And it's most assuredly not moral.

I have NO problem paying taxes for those things that government is supposed to provide, according to the Constitution (speaking obviously about the Federal government here; states and localities are not being discussed).

Stealing money is immoral, regardless of the reason(s) for doing so. The ends do not justify the means, and particularly not when our PAID SERVANTS - politicians - are the ones stealing from us. In the real world this is called 'embezzlement', among other crimes, punishable by jail time.

I think the only way to fix the system at this point is to offer people the chance to opt out of Social Security, effective immediately. Were I in charge, I would say to all Americans under 45:

"You're still young enough to save for your own retirement... so if you want to opt out of paying any future monies to Social Security - beginning with your next paycheck - you may do so. However, any monies you have paid to this point in time belong to the government, and you will not receive any Social Security benefits in your old age. Furthermore, this is a decision you cannot undo. You need not decide today - you can decide anytime. But once you opt out, you're done."

And to make up the shortfall in current revenue - payments being made using today's Social Security collections being paid out to today's retirees - I would sell off land 'owned' by the Federal government, of which there should properly be none, anyway (save Washington, DC).