>>>>That 12 percent put into private retirement accounts (like the Cato Institute's plan) would provide much better support without adding taxes on other people.
But you ignore the fact that CATO supports continued paying of current SS benefits, and 'recognition' bonds for previous FICA taxes paid. Without the FICA tax, that cost ultimately falls on the general taxpayer. Also, CATO supports a means-tested safety net for those under their new private system. Who pays for that? There is no free lunch. Your cost of the taxes to pay for these two items will likely yield you a '-100%' rate of return on those taxes. Any 'rate of return' comparison between the current system and the proposed CATO version must avg in that '-100%' return to be an accurrate comparison.
