re: #586 cliffster

There is actually a “trust fund”, and the idea is indeed to set aside money

I know there is. That wasn’t the point I was making.

Do you understand what I mean about social security payouts being not necessarily tied to the funding of specific SS taxes?

We could get rid of social security taxes and pay for it out of the general fund, and it’d still be social security. There’s nothing about the specific funding mechanism that ‘really’ sets the money aside.

I agree that the money should be safeguarded, but it’s not forcing individuals to save. Social security is a program paid for by a dedicated tax. It needs a trust fund to get through periods where receipts are lower than payouts.

But it is not forcing people to save. It’s forcing people to pay a tax to pay for social security payments.