I believe Medicare is funded like Social Security, where the money you pay in pays for benefits right now, and when you retire, other people will be paying the

I believe Medicare is funded like Social Security, where the money you pay in pays for benefits right now, and when you retire, other people will be paying the money that actually goes to you. They can't give you that 3% to invest yourself because then they have nothing to give people that are already retired. > But I guess I'm just a dumb peasant who can't take care of myself. Here's the rub. You, and many people, are likely able to manage that yourselves. Some people can't. They may already be poor and behind on their bills, so they'll put that 3% towards fixing the transmission in their car that hasn't worked for 3 months. They might be an entrepreneur with a poor sense of risk, that empties that money to start an underwater basket weaving college. Or they might just be bad for money. If we let people manage that themselves, what do we do when someone has to retire because of medical issues, but can't afford health insurance or the medical care they need? Do we just let them die? If we treat them, then everyone is subsidizing their healthcare, at which point you're investing 3%, but you're also paying a 1% tax to help cover all the people that didn't invest their 3%. At a certain point, the most sensible thing is just to not save your 3% and join the people the government takes care of. At some critical mass, we're just back to Medicare. Of course, if we're willing to tell people "You should have saved money, we're not going to help you. Please die close to the graveyard to make our lives easier." then that arithmetic changes dramatically, but I don't think that's a world I care to live in.