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Let me get this straight. SS would be a ponzi scheme if they paid current retirees with money taken from current workers via "SS taxes". But in reality it's n
by yummyfajitas 10y ago
Let me get this straight.
SS would be a ponzi scheme if they paid current retirees with money taken from current workers via "SS taxes".
But in reality it's not a ponzi scheme because they'll instead pay out current retirees with money taken from current workers via "Income taxes", and routed through strange bond-like structures.
Is that about right?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- toomuchtodo 10y agoWhat next, auto insurance is a ponzi scheme because only some people get money back? Life insurance a ponzi scheme because not everyone dies during their policy term? You don't have to like the system, and you're free to opt out and move to a country with a government more to you're liking.
- mikeash 10y ago"If you don't like it, you can move" is a horrible, horrible, horrible argument.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- someguydave 10y ago>"If you don't like it, you can move" is a horrible, horrible, horrible argument. why?
- mikeash 10y agoA couple of reasons: 1. Moving, especially to a different country, takes a huge amount of money and effort. It's reasonable for someone to want to fix a problem with where they are rather than go through that. 2. It's not actually an argument at all. It does nothing to demonstrate any merits of the thing being discussed. It's really just a more polite way to say "shut up." Consider, hypothetically, that every evening, an agent of the state would come into each person's house and punch them in the nose repeatedly. Would you object to this? Would you find "if you don't like it, you can move" to be a good argument in favor of this system?
- toomuchtodo 10y ago> Consider, hypothetically, that every evening, an agent of the state would come into each person's house and punch them in the nose repeatedly. Would you object to this? Would you find "if you don't like it, you can move" to be a good argument in favor of this system? Are you prepared to spend years, possibly decades, of your life to fix the problem? If not, yes, moving is a good argument. Although, I don't find social safety nets to be something that you'd find against, regardless of the amount of time involved, but that's just me.
- mikeash 10y agoHow is it a good argument? It might be a good idea to get out of such a place, but that's an entirely different thing.
- yummyfajitas 10y agoYou can use it to justify anything, besides maybe preventing exit. Don't like the risk of being murdered by cops for being black? Move! Don't like laws against homosexuality? Move!
- someguydave 10y agoI am mainly interested in promoting exit. It is often too quickly dismissed as solution to social problems.
- yummyfajitas 10y agoDo you believe Ponzi schemes exist at all? What, in your mind, distinguishes SS from Madoff, or Madoff from auto insurance?
- someguydave 10y agoReading hacker news comments for awhile has convinced me that most folks can't distinguish insurance, cost sharing, subsidies, or ponzi schemes.
- someguydave 10y agoUSG even throws in its "full faith and credit" for free!