"The surplus is spent on buying Treasuries and the money goes into the General Federal Budget, right?"
Right; and then the GF pays interest to SSTF, instead of to Calpers or China or me (if I had bonds).
"Therefore, it's always been better to have a "pay as you go" system, with no surplus"
If I wanted that, I would have being throwing quarters in coffee cans every payday for the last 50 years. I want my money growing, not shrinking. Those first 4 quarters might have bought me 3 gallons of gas back in '62. Now, they would be me 1/4 gallon. Good thing they've been earning interest all these years. Prolly not enuf, but a better return than
"permit some of those FICA taxes to go into an IRA, so they can seek a better return"
Why? That's what the rest of the paycheck is for, along with food and all that stuff. I have both an IRA and a 401someletter. SS is safest thing there is, with no money lost to profits taken out for IRA administrators and their shareholders. How well did all those better return plans fare in '08-'09? |
