ILA vs Rune: Social Security and Medicare are functionally welfare programs today

[canceled.2021.2]

In a previous thread, I accurately pointed out that Social Security and Medicare were not socialist programs, but are in fact welfare programs. Rune sought to argue that they are indeed socialist programs. When presented with the definition, he then decided to state that they were not welfare programs

Now, Rune will argue that they are not welfare because people are merely "paying into the system" and merely getting that money back. While it is true that people are paying payroll taxes, they by law have no inherent right to the money. It goes into the general fund. There is no real social security fund with an individuals name on it. That is a fallacy


I will present this article as Exhibit A in my argument that they are in fact functionally welfare programs

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...-paid-what-yo/

According to the institute’s data, a two-earner couple receiving an average wage — $44,600 per spouse in 2012 dollars — and turning 65 in 2010 would have paid $722,000 into Social Security and Medicare and can be expected to take out $966,000 in benefits. So, this couple will be paid about one-third more in benefits than they paid in taxes.

A couple of things to take away from this tidbit.

1) It is clear that many people will be collecting MORE from Social Security than they paid in. That money comes from other taxpayers. That makes it de facto welfare.
2) These individuals would have been better off putting that money in an S&P 500 fund and would have had over $2 million dollars to retire off of

Now Rune will most likely argue that there are those that pay into Social Security that never see any of the money such as those who die very young and do not have children. He would be correct and would also be proving my point. If a single man of 30 dies and does not have a wife or children, that money disappears. It does not go to any estate he may have. Unlike a 401K or other savings plan he can't designate a beneficiary for his social security dollars. Which gives even more strength to the argument that you aren't really paying into something that you will get back.

Social Security and Medicare are nothing more than de facto welfare schemes. Whether that was what they were designed to be by their architects, I will not speculate. But, it is clear that they are today