With all Ponzi schemes – it’s in the numbers. In order for the more senior parties to get paid, you need a lot of juniors paying in – when the money coming in stops, everything stops – that’s the scheme part. Our future truly lies in our children, let's hope they don't let us down by stopping, though it's really hard to underestimate how stupid we think they are.
Let's also have a back-up plan, just in case.
Let's also have a back-up plan, just in case.
Though my overview of capitalism convinces me that it’s a Ponzi scheme, at least in the abstract, in that it requires continuous growth for any payout -- at least it deals with actual capital –infrastructure, land values, and the future promise of the appropriate exploitation of land and labor.
Social Security is more straightforward – it’s a classic Ponzi scheme. Money from the new people goes into pay for the old – there is an illusion of savings; that there is a “big pot of money” somewhere, but there is no savings account stashed away --what comes in from Social Security goes straight into the same general fund that the government uses to pay its day to day bills.
For both those of you who have paid into the system with the belief that the miracle of compound interest would provide a tidy nest egg, and those who just joined the party and look in wonder at all the money being deducted from your wages --. There is no money in Social Security – only the promise of money from an over promised government. Always remember, there is no long term in reelections – making any future promise a tad scary for people that think.
Since I am aging and Social Security is quickly becoming the failed expectation of a promise, (much like tunafish, cool air and Tibet,) it's also something I still might need . (I have a lot of Matlock episodes to get through and desire the simple human comfort of a minimum income and a heated hovel to watch them in peace, and -- work might be limited for me, what with my nature, and even with wireless, it’s going to be tough to tele commute from an ice flow.)
Since I see this as a problem of not enough stuff in and a too much out , I’d like to propose a couple of changes:
Using the same system that older union workers have used for years to keep the money and benefits for themselves, while screwing new workers and their children, (if they get in the way,) I propose that we phase in Two-Tiered Citizenship program for all immigrants.
Up until now, most illegal immigrants with jobs have used fake social security cards. Employers deduct all the usual taxes from them that regular people have deducted (look at your pay stub – it’s a lot,) but the beauty of the system is – they get nothing back!!
Since this works well for my retirement, I propose no changes in it – but, and here’s the part I like -- just like the old company store – we make them pay-as-they-go for the services they actually get, like schools for their kids and emergency medicine. We will have to beef up the credit/collections industry and the penalties for default, but with a couple of Republican victories anticipated in the near future, this will be a no-brainer.
In addition – we limit the weight of his or her votes, through a complex system that I haven’t quite figured out yet – but have no doubt someone will, probably the same guy who makes Bart schedules.
Think of the money we can save on border security if we just let everyone in, and then hunt him or her down when they get some money.
I also have an idea about increasing the fertility of young people through the water supplied to school districts, and a great thought about increasing the age of eligibility for Social Security by a year for every year that goes by.
I say, the more the better, as long as they pay cash.
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