Paul Harvey, whose 58-year broadcasting career ended with his death at 90 Feb. 28, occasionally began stories by saying "This day’s news of most lasting significance may be this …"
This issue’s story of most lasting significance may be the iOMe Challenge story on page 8. You’ll read about the nationwide contest for college students to not just create a fix for Social Security, which is projected to reach deficit — as early as 2017, but to create a better retirement system.
The contestants will discover from just rudimentary research that Social Security is a giant pyramid-shaped ripoff (and the younger you are, the bigger ripoff it is), an unfair and inequitable transfer of wealth from younger and poorer generations to older and wealthier generations.
The problems of Social Security go beyond demographics and economics — too few workers paying for too many recipients. There is also no property right to Social Security — your Social Security benefits end with your death; unlike retirement proceeds, beyond the spousal death benefit and minor children’s death benefits, you cannot bequeath your Social Security payments to anyone.
Every day Social Security reform is delayed puts us closer (and now a lot closer) to whatever the equivalent of bankruptcy is for Social Security. But even if that wasn’t the case, fixing the other flaws of Social Security needs to involve an actual personal investment component, something that belongs to you and cannot be taken away or reduced by government fiat.