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YouDebateIt.com -- What, If Any, Changes Should Be Made To The US Social Security System?
Topic: What, If Any, Changes Should Be Made To The US Social Security System?

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Opinion #1
Debater: The Wild Goose
This is the biggest Ponzi racket in the nation.
In 1919, Charles Ponzi ran what was, in effect, a pyramid scheme. He went to prison. He paid out large dividends without making any actual investments, by simply shunting money from old investors to new ones. This is exactly what Social Security does- the difference being that Social Security requires us to be suckers, whereas a pyramid scheme takes in only the gullible and willing. It is financially impossible. Social Security not only provides less money than private investments in even a low-growth mutual fund would bring, it is also a drain on the budget, as congress has to bail it out every time it becomes insolvent. In short, Social Security is a piece of financial trickery, a grand illusion that does not really work at all but looks stable at a passing glance. A good start would be making it purely optional. A good finish would be getting rid of the whole mess.
Opinion #2
Debater: paraquat99
Don't destroy one of the government's most effective programs.
True, private investments can yield more money over time than Social Security. On the other hand, ask an Enron stockholder how those investments are working for them. The point of Social Security isn't the yield; it's the fact that as a *supplement* to a retired persons savings, investments and other income. It's a sure thing. The problem with people now is they don't remember what life in the U.S. was like for the eldery BEFORE SS. The poverty rate for the elderly was higher than it is today; the elderly were less independent and more of a financial burden on their families. To make SS optional would defund & destroy it. SS is not a savings account but paid into by current workers for those now retired. The GAO states it's solvent in present-form until 2042. More folks are retiring but the U.S. population continues to grow 2.4%/year. Raise the retirement age age. Raise taxes on incomes over $100,000. Increase immigration. Don't privatize a 70-year old, successful gov't program.
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