[quote=CONCHO]
What would happen to a private insurance company that squandered its premium money? They could be sued and some of their executives might wind up in handcuffs. Yet when this is done by our government we all just accept it.[/quote]

LOL!! No! They would get bailed out. And the executives don’t get handcuffs, they get giant bonuses. (See AIG)

But it’s really nothing like private insurance. Social Security was never designed to be a pre-funded insurance (nor was medicare for that matter). But the trustees and congress have f’d up royally and haven’t listened to the actuaries’ warnings for 25 years. Benefits were increased to unsustainable levels. Population growth hasn’t even reached the lower ends of projections. It’s a political hot potato that no congress has ever wanted to deal with.