| JamesDragonrider | Friday, February 16, 2024 - 03:00 pm 
Social Security is reportedly a good thing in the game.
It is not, however, the same as what the USA calls Social Security.
Social Security in the USA was set up like an insurance policy, at least that was how it was sold. Workers pay in, and upon retirement, they collect back some funds to help ensure they can make ends meet after retirement.
It was never intended to be a living wage, or at least: never sold as such.
It was also set up so that it would kick in about at the end of life expectancy, so that (at the time) you had 30 people paying in for each person taking out.
With that, there was no need to hold on to the funds, and invest them.
They simply paid out from what the others paid in. In this sense, it was really just a Ponzi Scheme.
Welfare, on the other hand, was set up to take care of those who couldn't work. The game has rolled welfare into the SS system.
Strangely: Those in the 15-18 age bracket should be in school, but some are collecting SS benefits as unemployed.
Likewise, those in the 18-24 age brackets should be going on to higher education, but are instead staying home to collect.
Which is why the payments shouldn't be driven "ideally" to 100%.
If you're staying home, you are not driving to work, wearing out your clothing, etc. and your personal expenses for being unemployed are lower than someone actually working. 70% would give you roughly the same standard of living as someone working for 100%.
Anything higher than 70% is actually paying people more to stay home than to be productive.
And why does it kick in at 65?
Why are people who are healthy not continuing to work?
Why force them out of the job market, especially if there is a shortage of their skill set?
The take away from this is that the game should be adjusted in 3 ways, and possibly a 4th
1) The population should pay in to the SS system.
2) The payments should not start until after school age at the earliest.
3) The target for "Good SS Target" should be 70%, and anything higher lower the rating as being counterproductive to the welfare of society.
4) If it is not too much extra work, the welfare system should be broken out of the SS system. (Otherwise it should be renamed Welfare, since that is the bulk of the current payments.) |
