“Social Security is much worse than a Ponzi scheme” – continued

Continuing my earlier comments here and here, here are a few extracts from Laurence M. Vance:

Social Security is not a retirement account. It is not an insurance program. It is not a savings account. It is not an investment account. It is not a safety net. It is not a trust fund. It is not a pension plan.

Social Security is a relic from the New Deal. It is an entitlement program. It is an income-transfer scheme. It is a wealth-redistribution plan. It is the cornerstone of the welfare state. It is the largest entitlement in the federal budget. It is unconstitutional.

Social Security doesn’t need to be fixed, changed, reformed, made to work, made fiscally sound, restored, privatized, or saved. The program needs to be abolished.

Social Security is many things, but a Ponzi scheme it is not.

Social Security is funded by taxes, not donations, investments, or contributions. The taxes could be raised at any time. The taxable wage base could be raised at any time, or even eliminated. Employers who don’t properly withhold Social Security taxes face fines and imprisonment. Individual taxpayers with small businesses as sole proprietors who don’t properly withhold Social Security taxes face fines and imprisonment. Social Security benefits could be reduced at any time. Benefits could be means tested. The retirement age could be raised.

Social Security is much worse than a Ponzi scheme. It is based coercion, funded by theft, and maintained by threats of violence to person and property. At least participation in a Ponzi scheme is voluntary, and at least participants in a Ponzi scheme are free to get out once they discover they are being defrauded.