What if all the money you have paid in Social Security taxes had been invested instead in a Standard and Poor's 500 index fund (such as the Vanguard index fund VFAIX or the Fidelity index fund FUSVX)?
How much money would you have had in retirement each year from age 66 through age 90? How much will you get from Social Security instead?
To explore the answers to these questions, click this link. I think you will be stunned how badly you will do with Social Security, compared to earnings from a broadly diversified portfolio like a Standard and Poor's 500 index fund.
The average annual rate of return on the Standard and Poor's 500 has been a bit higher than 9 percent over the span from 1871 to 2005. Check it out here.
Social Security is far worse than a Ponzi scheme. At least with a Ponzi scheme, like the one Bernie Madoff ran for several years, some of the investors get good returns on their money. Social Security is an equal opportunity rip off; no one gets a good return on investment.
It would be one thing if people had a choice about paying the Social Security tax. Compulsory payment of the tax is simply socialized theft.
When the next federal election rolls around, just remember that any politician --- presidential or otherwise --- who supports the Social Security program is sanctioning the rip off that the calculator included in this post demonstrates.
Here's the deal: you pay 12.4 percent of your income in a mandatory tax. But when you start drawing social security benefits, you get anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000 per year --- instead of the $110,000 to $185,000 per year you could have enjoyed from a conservatively invested portfolio of stocks and bonds!
Don't take my word for it. Play around with the Social Security calculator included in this post. Do the math yourself. We the People are getting hosed.
How much money would you have had in retirement each year from age 66 through age 90? How much will you get from Social Security instead?
To explore the answers to these questions, click this link. I think you will be stunned how badly you will do with Social Security, compared to earnings from a broadly diversified portfolio like a Standard and Poor's 500 index fund.
The average annual rate of return on the Standard and Poor's 500 has been a bit higher than 9 percent over the span from 1871 to 2005. Check it out here.
Social Security is far worse than a Ponzi scheme. At least with a Ponzi scheme, like the one Bernie Madoff ran for several years, some of the investors get good returns on their money. Social Security is an equal opportunity rip off; no one gets a good return on investment.
It would be one thing if people had a choice about paying the Social Security tax. Compulsory payment of the tax is simply socialized theft.
When the next federal election rolls around, just remember that any politician --- presidential or otherwise --- who supports the Social Security program is sanctioning the rip off that the calculator included in this post demonstrates.
Here's the deal: you pay 12.4 percent of your income in a mandatory tax. But when you start drawing social security benefits, you get anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000 per year --- instead of the $110,000 to $185,000 per year you could have enjoyed from a conservatively invested portfolio of stocks and bonds!
Don't take my word for it. Play around with the Social Security calculator included in this post. Do the math yourself. We the People are getting hosed.
