If we're interested in discussing the topic of the original post, fixing social security, we sure seem to have strayed down a peculiar path to discuss such.
Here is how quickly the Social Security Funds will be depleted -
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/trust-funds-summary.html
And if anyone wonders how Congress could find the money to fix some of the SS deficit, well, it seems the SS recipients need to make the case that they are "Too Big To Fail" (TBTF). We could solve the funding issue, but the SS recipients aren't Too Big To Fail.
We place sideboards on what are the possible solutions to funding the SS solvency issue. Yet, we never place sideboards in how we bailout, subsidize, or give tax preferences to TBTF crowd. The TBTF economy gets to operate in a different sphere than the rest of us.
Below is a list of the Trillions we've used to bail out Wall Street, the banking industries, insurance grifters, groups to took huge risks on mortgage bets, and a series of other stupid decisions far riskier and far more costly than the guy who made a few bad decisions where he now needs Social Security as a supplement.
Total this up over the years and adjust it for inflation to current dollars and see who our Representative Republic is representing -
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/government-financial-bailout.asp
Imagine if these companies in the bailouts were allowed to "tough it out" and Uncle Sam didn't save their sorry asses. The folks running the companies, the investors who should have lost billions, and those rinsing/repeating such might actually have to account for their own risks, bad decisions, and lack of "bootstrapping."
Imagine if instead we put even half of that bailout money in the SS Trust Funds. This SS insolvency discussion wouldn't be happening today.
We are a kidding ourselves that we are a capitalist economy so long as we keep a safety net in place for businesses/people in the "TBTF economy." Yet, about every decade or so, we jump in a with another billion/trillion for the chosen winners. Then we complain about the reasons we have a Social Security deficit.
It has been these bailout events, with 2008-09 in particular, and my years of reading the subsidy via tax laws that closed my mind to any belief in the fallacy that we have a free market economy. Between tax subsidy, cash subsidy, and bailouts for bad decisions, the US is hardly an example of a "free market" as I studied in Econ. We have more socialism for corporations and wealthy folks, the TBTF economy, than we do for working people, but so long as we wrap it in the banner of "capitalism," we seem comfortable denying the socialist structures that support our markets and the companies/individuals benefiting most from such.
I know it surprises some people when I chuckle at their claim of a free market economy here in the US. Maybe I'm just too jaded from seeing small businesses sink/swim (Too Small To Care About) on their own and being an insider to see how winners get chosen via tax policy.
I'm all for less socialism/more capitalism/free markets, especially for the people and entities relying on the gubment's "Too Big To Fail" safety net. They aren't in favor of that. They need that safety net to soften the risks they take while keeping the rewards from such. I don't see too many of those TBTF folks worrying about funding a SS deficit.
We could easily solve the SS/Medicare problem if we wanted to. We just don't make it a priority over bailing out and subsidizing the biggest and wealthiest. Fixing the SS solvency is way higher on my priority list than keeping the TBTF economy artificially propped up.
I am thankful we have a Representative Republic. I'm skeptical as to whose interests are being "represented" these days.
