Social Security is a means whereby the wealthy and powerful can place the burden of providing a safety-net for the poor and helpless upon others who are also poor or at best only middle class. This system allows the wealthy and powerful to avoid paying a fair share in progressive taxes to fund programs that benefit society as a whole. Further, as payroll taxes increase over time, Social Security acts as the cement to rigidify the existing class structure, ensuring that the gap between rich and poor in our country grows larger and larger.
The only way this has been allowed to happen is that the safety-net function of Social Security is hidden. Most people think that what they recieve in benefits has represented a return on their own contributions. Of course, this is wrong, but for a long time that "return" has been generous for all within the middle class because of low tax rates and the fact that the worker-retiree was favorable. Now that has changed and will get worse.
Safety-nets are a good idea. But safety-nets should be funded by progressive general taxes, not regressive payroll taxes. Social Security should be changed to a system of mandatory personal accounts funded by payroll taxes with a safety-net funded by progressive general taxes.
