My “fix” for Social Security

As things look from my perspective (a fifty year old white guy with two college degrees, a small business going down the tubes into which I've poured all my savings), I believe that Social Security will a) bankrupt this country and b) never last long enough to pay me a dime. So, on the happy note that I'll die before getting any support from that system that took a ton of money out of my paycheck while I worked for someone else (I “maxed out” eighteen years running until they removed the limit), I now start reading commentary on this tax panel or whatever the feds are doing to plug the holes in this leaking fiscal ship.

The Social Security retirement age is a completely arbitrary number pulled out of FDR's butt back in the 1930's. There was some rudimentary calculations at the time that seem to be based loosely on the U.S. population's life expectancy, but then they hard coded the number not knowing that they were screwing up the country's future.

Back then, life was much harder; measles, polio, umpteen kinds of pox, cigarettes, agricultural employment, crappy auto brakes, no electricity for much of the country, etc. There really hadn't been all that much improvement in the human condition (as expressed in life expectancy) in centuries.

If you do a little research, you will find that life expectancy between 1700 and 1900 rose steadily from about 44 to about 49 years of age. That's an improvement of five (5) years of age in a couple of centuries (just for giggles I checked up on european life expectancy guestimates between 1200 and 1700; about 8 years improvement during that half-millennium). However, since 1900, life expectancy has really jumped. By 2000, it has risen to over 77 years of age. That is a difference of 28 years or an improvement of 57% in one hundred years.

Think of it. Your grandfather barely made it to 60 years old and your grand children may get to 90 or more. Just as a matter of course. Better living conditions, better jobs, better medicines, less smoking, less drinking, disc brakes, air bags, safety glass, etc. That sounds great but Uncle Sam is going to go to the poor house pretty soon.

When the Social Security Retirement age was set at 65 years old, life expectancy was well below that; about 57. Put another way, the retirement age was set at roughly 115% of the life expectancy age. If we are to follow that ratio, today's retirement age should be 89.5 years old.

Here's my suggestion:

1. Remove any an all limits on deposits to individual retirement savings accounts.
2. Repeal all estate taxes; federal and state.
3. Tell those born after December 31, 1975 that they are on their own for their retirement.
4. On every odd numbered year, starting next year, add one to the Social Security retirement age until it matches 115% of the life expectancy at that time. Then adjust it upward (never downward) each year to maintain at least the 115%.
5. When everyone born prior to January 1, 1976 dies, so does Social Security.

Of course, this will still put the Social Security retirement payout out of my reach. Doing the calculations, my age would match the retirement age when I'm 82 years old in 2043. Not damned likely.

Let the bitching commence.