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A 15-Year-Old's Brilliant Social Security Analysis.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (what a cool word, "intelligencer") has this guest commentary on Social Security from 15-year-old Alex Binz (via the AlphaPatriot blog). Here is a taste:

The trust fund is "invested" in special-issue bonds and government IOUs. In other words, the trust fund money is separated from the general fund, loaned to the federal government and then spent on all kinds of programs through the general fund. Bureaucrats get the best of both worlds: They can claim (rightly) that the money is set aside in bonds but they still get to spend it freely.

There is no substance behind the trust fund; it is a mere promise of repayment, without any money backing up that promise. Without any real assets, Social Security resembles nothing more than a pyramid scheme, funneling money from new "investors" (current workers) to those who invested from the beginning (current retirees). And like any pyramid scheme, it cannot hold out forever. The SSA itself admits that by 2018 retiree benefits will exceed worker contributions. It will run a deficit, cash in its bonds and eventually have them dissolve for all the world to see.

Fantastic. Send that kid to Washington. Quick.

Posted by Will Franklin · 31 March 2005 08:53 AM

Comments

Posted by: Marge at March 31, 2005 07:38 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at April 1, 2005 08:10 AM

Posted by: Homer at April 1, 2005 01:17 PM