politics

Oh, so SS is a ponzi scheme now? Well then, I hope you do something about that, Musk. And then I'd like my tens of thousands of dollars that were taken from my paycheck back, please. After all, if I paid into the system and I haven't used any benefits yet since I'm not at retirement age, you should be able to pay me back after you seek recompense from all the "mispayments" going on, right?

This is the billionaire class trying to do a rug pull. Don't believe their accusations of fraud and abuse, they're doing anything they can except raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for it. It's your money. You paid faithfully into the system. If they mismanaged the funds by borrowing against it to fuel military quagmires all around the world, that's a "them" problem. Hold the government accountable and do not let them cancel your retirement entitlements.

Elon Musk called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” claiming it’s unsustainable due to long-term obligations exceeding tax revenue.

Being a Ponzi scheme requires fraud. In a Ponzi scheme, the fraudster fraudulently claims that an investor is making a larger return than he is, then -- for a while -- pays him back from future investments from other investors. It is intrinsically unsustainable.

Social Security isn't fraudulent. It states explicitly that people contributing to Social Security are providing the funds to people who are withdrawing from it. It may not be sustainable to maintain a fixed level of benefits at a fixed level of taxation if the fertility rate is declining, but the lack of sustainability isn't what makes a Ponzi scheme a Ponzi scheme. It's the presence of fraud, which does not exist for Social Security.

I remember that the Social Security Administration website used to have a page up explicitly describing why it wasn't a Ponzi scheme.

"Full self-driving"

You know what, if they destroy Social Security just because Musk said so, I have no doubt there will be blood. Too many people from too many demographics in too many places rely on it just to SURVIVE, let alone abuse it in any meaningful way.

This would honestly be one of, if not the fastest ways to spark a civil war, outside of rolling troops into major cities and opening fire. Why? Because you'd suddenly have millions of people unable to feed themselves, in a country where there are significantly more guns than people, and they'd all have ample cause to march on DC.

THAT SAID, I doubt Musk and Trump have thought of that, because they're 2 drug-addled lunatics who do not and never have cared about long-term ramifications. I'm sure other Republicans are shitting themselves in fear right now, as the Dipshit Duo get ready to kill the Political Golden Goose, but none of them can speak up for fear of losing power.

What a fucking mess.

It's one of the most popular social programs in American history. It's also OUR FUCKING MONEY ELON.

Does he feel like way about all pension programs or just the ones he is trying to plunder?

The favorite dumb argument from the guys who constantly defraud governments via tax dodging and subsidies.

Despicable thief and con man.

Is it possible that every single day I wake up, open Lemmy and get new outraging bullshit from this fantastic duo? Where they get those insane ideas? Don't they get tired? Go to play golf or so

Elon is a anamorphic Ponzi scheme.

Alternative headline: expert on ponzi schemes bemoans what he sees as competition

The 2025 earnings tax cap for social security is $176k.

If those richest among us, like Elon who makes billions per year, had to pay social security tax on a larger percentage of their earnings, or on all of it like those of us making less than $176k annually, the system would easily be solvent in perpetuity. The only reason it’s potentially at risk is because rich assholes have lobbied successfully in order to not pay into it.

If Musk dislikes "Ponzi schemes," maybe start by rejecting government subsidies for his ventures.

🐱🐱

Conservatives think the government should be run like a business. You're not buying or selling anything, the point is to serve the people you fucks.

Social security is never going to "run out" it's continuously funded, that's how it works. America lacks curiosity and an attention span beyond a couple seconds. Conservatives loudly accuse (while projecting), demand detailed explanation and then immediately become disinterested in the explanation they demanded - mostly because they can't comprehend the basic concepts and their eyes glaze over. For the most part they are unserious, homicidal and suicidal and just looking for an excuse to have an outburst.

Don't let them leech your energy trying to explain or debate. They don't know or care what you are talking about.

It's not a Ponzi Scheme when there's nobody standing to profit you dumb fucking idiot fuck. It's been getting funded for almost 100 years, and has only recently been under fire by assholes like you who accumulate wealth and remove it from being eligible for such a social safety net. Now you're worried we're coming for yours and Rogan's money to fund it, and we will.

Y'all need to stop listening to these morons pal around and podcasts. They mean to harm you and your families, and take away the already middling social programs that benefit you, not them.

His bullshit he's spouting isn't even true. US life expectancy hasn't even increased at all over the past 20 years, and has only gone up by like 7 years over the past 50 and they've increased retirement age since then.

Send that nazi back to South Africa

I mean, in a way he’s not wrong. The money gets funneled from all of us all the way to the top.

But the thing is, the money does get distributed - all of it. The Ponzi at the top is us again, stealing from it to pay for infrastructure or defense spending.

And that is fine because that type of scheme with a large moat is called insurance. And so long as we can continue to pay out distributions, it is solvent.

But it isn’t solvent, because premiums haven’t kept up with payouts and the payouts for the baby boomers are massive. And if we don’t take some kind of action (e.g. increased premiums, disqualification for the rich, increase the benefit age) then payouts will eventually need to decrease.

I understand what he is saying. It kinda looks like one at first glance, because contributions from current workers go first to pay current retirees.

But what he misses is that we did it that way on purpose. The end goal was to make Americans more secure as a country. Americans could work at their jobs and be confident that they would be taken care of in their old age by the younger generation as a whole, Americans taking care of each other. I understand that the money I pay in now is going to support my parents and their generation, and I really dont mind. We'll see if these dimwits ruin it by the time I need it.

Everything with these MAGA idiots is zero-sum. If they are paying money to anyone, they need to be the ones getting the benefits from it, otherwise it is a "scam". The problem with zero-sum is that there always have to be winners and losers. And if the people in power are always the winners, what does that make us?

Lol Bro doesn't know what a Ponzi Scheme is

Okay crypto-fascist whatever you say

Says the guy who made most of his fortune on taxpayer money and hype.

Should have listened to Al Gore: Lockbox

Didnt Reagan under a conservative government allow the money to be spent, in order to pay for the debt left over after the great society act?

It therefore would now be a ponzi scheme, where past investors pay new investors, until the outflows outpace inflows and it fails.