Subject: Social Security is Anti-Family & Anti-Parenting
I.
(Walter) "Social Security is anti-family and anti-parenting. It takes the rightful endowment of parents to their children and gives it indiscriminately to non-parents. "
(James) "Actually, SS uses the taxes of singles to subsidize benefits for couples and families."
Comment:
Neither the single (childless) person's payment of Social Security taxes nor a parent's payment of Social Security taxes does anything to "create a wage earner," the human capital necessary to pay Social Security. A wage earner is a child nurtured by parents who invest their love, time and money in that child.
The single (childless) person pays no more and no less in Social Security taxes than the parent, but the parent bears the expense in time and money of creating the productive asset - a child - who will grow up to be the wage earner who pays Social Security benefits.
Social Security gives an economic advantage to those who chose not to rear children by paying benefits to those who did not create the human capital necessary to pay those benefits. In doing so, Social Security favors a single person's choice of childlessness over the choice to form a family and rear children.
In short, the childless person's payment of payroll taxes is not the source of that single person's Social Security check in retirement; the source is a parent's investment in a child.
Is there a point to your statement that I do not understand?
II.
(Walter) "It is not uncommon today to find people who have consciously decided not to have children. That is their choice. Economic changes since 1973 have made it harder than ever to make ends meet. Since 1990 - even in these so-called "good economic times," bankruptcy filings have more than doubled. And, children can be expensive.
(James) "Actually, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, prosperous families and societies have fewer offspring than their poorer counterparts. Apparently they have the resources to appreciate consumer spending. They are more 'distracted' by these things than those who are poorer. The poor are more focused on the 'raising a family' aspect of life."
Comment:
And so you support my position that the parents' investment in rearing children should not be used to subsidize wealthier persons who chose not to rear children?
