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From your sources:

In FY 2013, we:
- Paid over $850 billion to almost 65 million beneficiaries;

So that's where your 850 billion dollar figure comes from.
Only problem is, your confirmation bias prevented you from actually reading that document.
You know... like actually looking for understanding (what those numbers actually mean) instead of just fishing for BigMcHuge numbers to lean your bias on.
Or you would have noticed this bit:

Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Created in 1935, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) program provides retirement and survivors benefits to qualified workers and their families.
In FY 2015, we will pay about $744 billion in OASI benefits to approximately 49 million beneficiaries per month, including 89 percent of the population aged 65 and over.

Disability Insurance
Established in 1956, the Disability Insurance (DI) program provides benefits for workers with disabilities and their families.
In FY 2015, we will pay about $147 billion in DI benefits to approximately 11 million workers with disabilities and their family members per month.

Supplemental Security Income
Established in 1972, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides financial support to adults and children with disabilities and adults who are aged or blind, and have limited income and resources.
In FY 2015, we will pay about $60 billion in Federal benefits and State supplementary payments to approximately 8.5 million recipients per month.

OASI and DI trust funds are collected from payroll taxes.
It's insurance that working stiffs pay for themselves and their families.
Not "public assistance". Or welfare.
That's that last bit - SSI. Paid out to eligible "adults and children with disabilities and adults who are aged or blind, and have limited income and resources".

SSA is NOT "public assistance". Or welfare as some like to call it.
But I'm sure you already know that - as you've listed both, separately. From that "better website".
Where only SSI is listed under "welfare".

Now, if you'd bother to look up the SSA budget overview for 2013 (since that is what you're basing your $850 billion numbers on) you'd notice that those same programs were projected as follows:
- about $672 billion in OASI benefits,
- about $143 billion in DI benefits and,
- about $58 billion in Federal and State Supplementation benefits.
"About" $873 billion projected, all together.

I.e. Those $850 billion SSA paid out was mostly INSURANCE. Not "public assistance".
Both you and the GP are off by orders of magnitude cause you don't understand the numbers you're quoting.
Because bias.

But the bit I find the most hilarious is how you've looked at that chart where defense spending is just a notch or two under pensions and came up with that 62% nonsense out of your ass.
Yet at the same time it just doesn't reach from that same source, to your mind, that pensioners don't actually drive around in tanks, maintain bases in foreign countries, stockpile ICBMs in their back yard, fly jets...
You know... express that overwhelming opulence in some way which would rival the feed and care of the world's largest military force.

Social Security provides a verification service: https://www.socialsecurity.gov...

After all, it's estimated that there are 40,000,000 dupes out there.

This is a misconstrued / misused statistic.
The linked page at idanalytics.com says:

More than 20 million Americans have multiple Social Security numbers (SSNs) associated with their name in commercial records according to a new study announced today from ID Analytics, Inc., a leader in consumer risk management. The study also found that rather than serving as a unique identifier, more than 40 million SSNs are associated with multiple people.

[bolded by me]
That is also poorly worded. What association are they referring to? I'm VERY confident they do NOT mean the official SSN database. FWIW, one can verify SSN's using the social security system's SSNVS (social security number verification service): https://www.socialsecurity.gov...
I suspect they mean that SSN's that show up in external databases, such as employment records, fraud reports, credit checks and reports, etc (anything falling under what they called "commercial records", and what they base their bread and butter business on), and that those end up having multiple names associated with them - which makes sense. since there's probably a LARGE amount of typo's and purposefully incorrect information.

This is quite different than the subject of this article, where two women had the same SSN issued to them by the Social Security administration.

FWIW, if you're wondering if they're ever re-used, they have not been thus far (you take your number with you when you die, so to speak). There are currently about 319 million people in the united states. The SSN format has room for a maximum of 999 million numbers. There are a bunch of exceptions that won't be used:
* 100 million of those are reserved for ITIN use (ITIN's start with "9").
* No number group will ever be issued all zeros (ie. 000-nn-nnnn, nnn-00-nnnn, and nnn-nn-0000 are all invalid), which rules out a bunch more.
* Area number 666 has never been issued, and probably won't be (ie. 666-nn-nnnn), ruling out another million of them.
* Numbers from 987-65-4320 to 987-65-4329 are reserved for advertising use.
* Hilda Whitcher's SSN is now invalid (http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/woolworth.asp)

To date, over 450 million SSNs have been issued, and the SSA notes that it does not reassign SSN's after the number holder's death (https://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html). I don't know where the countdown clock is for running out, but we'll get there eventually (we're over half way there). That's going to make one hell of a y2k, unless they just start re-issuing from the death master file (yes, that's a thing).

You're both wrong.

Social Security actually owns the most, with a $2.7T share. (2.7 teradollars is a lot, but torn dollars aren't worth much.)

Here's a nice article that breaks it down for you.

Face it, old people own you. You can either join them, or you can die trying.

You only need a birth certificate and some other form of ID to get a social security card and you can mail to get your birth certificate anywhere that I know of - contact the Office of Records (or some other ominous named office).

Requirements:
https://www.socialsecurity.gov...

My daughter's apartment was broken into and her ID was all stolen along with her birth certificate - the true copy and the only copy. It took a bit but we were able to replace it all. I seem to recall a path for those who do not have a photo ID as well. I think she had to go to the State, get an attested copy of some paper that indicated she needed her social security card, and was then able to submit that. Much of it was done with the assistance of a local attorney that my lawyer knew and hired for her. I can call her and ask if need be though it probably is not that important.

Sourcing manufacturing jobs in Georgia is like shooting fish in a barrel. OSHA and EPA inspections are basically nonexistent and the threat of meaningful unionization is basically the same as the PRC. The most important reason chinas looking to the US for sourcing jobs is not because their citizens are earning more, its because you are earning less. according to the social security national wage index the average take home yearly pay for a worker in 1977 was $9779. adjusted, thats $58,713 in 2013 dollars.
https://www.socialsecurity.gov...
http://adjustforinflation.com/
what this chinese company proposes is offering manufacturing workers $15 an hour, or around $31k a year. Things like health and dental insurance are probably not going to be provided by this company, and that would usually be OK because a state healthcare exchange would help but georgia hasnt passed any conforming legislation and does not to date have an exchange of its own, nor has it expanded medicare coverage.

In the United States, my Asperger's diagnosis qualified me for vocational rehabilitation services from the state of Indiana, mostly assistance with job placement and interviews. But I'm not aware of any sort of tax deduction for having an impairment unless the impairment is severe enough to make the person unable to engage in "substantial gainful activity". Unless an individual is blind, the SSA defines SGA as an income close to the current poverty level.

His name implies he is a national from South Korea. South Korean nationals are part of the visa waiver program and can stay in the US for up to 90 days without a visa. Why waste this visa on him?

According to this information from the Social Security Office, holders of a P-visa are eligible to receive an SSN. This means that he can actually pay taxes on his US income, should he win any major prizes.

Another reason could be that a previous visa request (such as J or F) was denied, making him ineligible for the VWP.

SSI is a welfare payout. SSDI is insurance, which is not welfare. SSI comes from general tax revenue and is for people that have limited resources and income, which is the EXACT SAME as your local welfare program. You may have never paid into the system. You may be able to work a limited amount, or have another means to live (small income, dependent on another family member, etc). You have to be a resident of the united states (just like you have to be a resident of your local municipality to get welfare benefits from there). The benefits you receive are tied to how much you need to live. You may receive SSI for a work injury that has been deemed temporary, even for a time less than a year.

SSDI on the other hand requires that you have paid into the system for several years. Your benefits are proportional to how much you put into the system while working, regardless whether it is deemed enough to live or not, or even more than you need. Your disability is seen as potentially having no end and working at the time of approval is seen as "probably never". You are not required to stay in the united states or even stay a US citizen, because like I said, it is an insurance payout.

You may want to read Understanding Supplemental Security Income. It seems you, as well as most people have the wrong idea about what Social Security is and what one is actually entitled to

I think you will find that the Social Security cash flow surplus essentially doesn't exist anymore. The latest published data, for 2011, showed it at less than 9%.

No one, including the SSA, is debating whether the program will cease to be "pay as you go" at some point, and that time is imminent. It's going to run a deficit. Permanently, structurally, as a matter of fact, unless taxes on our generation are increased and/or the program doesn't pay out what the previous generations promised themselves we would pay them.

What they refer to as "the accumulated surplus" is the Trust Fund. That's nothing but government bonds, which is all it ever could be (by law). The federal government took the money and spent it. In order to redeem that debt to pay SS benefits out of the Trust Fund, the federal government would therefore need to either:

1) Acquire additional revenue from the present working generation, more revenue than they currently are receiving (ie. increased taxes), or

2) Sell new debt under "the greater fool" theory, where they find investors willing to buy bonds to fund the redemption of the Trust Fund debt. This is nothing more sophisticated than a credit card balance transfer. The issue with this approach is that eventually the bond market will freak at our deficit size and/or our debt-to-GDP and then the government will be forced to default in one form or another.

From the SS program's standpoint, one major problem is the actuarial liability is increasing. People are living longer, which is great, except that means they will be drawing benefits longer if the retirement age is fixed. This is why the retirement age needs to increase to put it on par with the historical benefits. Yes, and that means the Boomers and all subsequent generations should work longer before they retire.

Furthermore, it's essential that the previous generation share the sacrifice: how is it fair that our (and future) generations will have to work longer than they did before we can retire, and pay higher taxes than they did, merely to pay them what they promised themselves? I think you'll find that every politician who talks about "fixing" Social Security adamantly adheres to the platform that the previous generation "deserves" the benefits exactly as they promised to themselves, but all future generations will just have to suck it up to bail that out while also facing later retirement and reduced benefits.

I am aware that "they" include my parents and your parents. However, "they" didn't fix anything during their time. Merely attempting to dilute responsibility among an entire society doesn't change the fact that the situation exists, is unjust, and needs to be fixed.

If I were to open a joint checking account with my elementary age child, deposit $10,000, spend that money on a new car for the household, then write a $10,000 post-dated check for 30 years from today "to cash out my original savings deposit", how is it my child's responsibility to make me whole just because I put her name on the account? Because that's what the previous generations did: they told themselves they were "saving" money in the Trust Fund, but they spent it all on general budget expenditures (albeit via one layer of notional, bookkeeping indirection called the Trust Fund).

Yes, perhaps one day I will live to be of retirement age. The reason I want us to break the vicious cycle is that I don't want to visit the ignominy of what our parents' and grandparents' generations did to us on *our* children and grandchildren.

People should stop counting on government pyramid schemes to fund their retirement. Our generation has a chance to start accepting responsibility to save money on our own and break the cycle. Yes, it's too late for the mathematically-challenged previous generations, so we can give them some means-tested welfare if they need it.

...but we don't *owe* them merely because they decided we should, before

I absolutely concur: every retirement plan should shift to a defined contribution plan (eg. 401(k)).

However, unions bitterly cling to their gold-plated benefits, whether or not they will bankrupt their employer. Therefore, the idea of common-sense, defined contribution retirement plans for the USPS is likely a nonstarter. It's telling that government and para-governmental organizations like the USPS are essentially the only entities offering defined benefit pension retirement plans anymore. It essentially boils down to the putative "infinite supply of other people's money" they believe they have.

Pension plans—especially government pensions—are destroying this country. It's a mess that the Boomers and their parents made but the subsequent generations will have to bail out. You know, because they paid into a Ponzi scheme, despite knowing it could never work, we're somehow supposed to feel obligated to be their salvation from their pernicious, willful ignorance of the mathematics of a pyramid scam. Not to mention they didn't even have the decency to breed at a replacement rate, which just makes our generation's burden that much greater.

Why are we to blame for their failures? They have no right to be "made whole" in terms of the money they threw away on debacles like Social Security, especially when the cost to subsequent generations is so high. Raise the retirement age to 68+ immediately so people only draw benefits for the same actuarial length of time as they historically did. Hell, let's alter the program's foundation from being a pension to being "old age welfare", and therefore start means-testing distributions. This is a problem *they* made, and they should definitely bear a significant portion of the costs of fixing it... not us, our children, and our grandchildren.

According to the law, illegal aliens are entitled to Social Security if they have paid into the system.https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21732.pdf

It's quite a bit more complicated than that. They may or may not be able to collect, depending on many factors, such as what country they're living in, whether they ever had legal work status while they had a SSN, and so on. The details are all buried in the various editions of the Social Security Protection Act of [insert almost any year after 2000]. TL; DR.

Even legal permanent/temporary workers and US citizens who have paid into social security may not be able to receive benefits, depending on where they live.

even if that means taking social security checks when the borrower is retired.

Without new legislation, only taxes may be withheld from social security checks.

You were already known by SS. From the SS website:

Documents You May Need to Provide
        We may need to see certain documents in order to pay benefits. A list of documents we need to see will appear at the end of the application, along with instructions on where to submit them. The documents we may ask for are:

        your original birth certificate or other proof of birth [more info] (You may also submit a copy of your birth certificate certified by the issuing agency).;
        your original citizenship or naturalization papers [more info];
        a copy of your U.S. military service paper(s) (e.g., DD-214 - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) if you had military service before 1968; [more info]; and
        a copy of your W-2 form(s) [more info] and/or self-employment tax return [more info] for last year.

Note: If our records show that documents proving age or citizenship/naturalization have already been submitted for an earlier Medicare or Social Security claim (such as Disability, Supplemental Security Income, etc.), you do not need to submit the documents again.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/info/isba/retirement/firstpartyrib.htm

On a slightly off note, on June 25, 2011, they plan to do away the geographical connection between the place of birth and the first three digits. One less thing, I guess. In this instance it would make this 'guessing the first five digits' much, much harder, if not impossible. http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/randomization.html

You missed the US Federal employer incentive to hire "visa'd" workers, over citizens. Does it really matter if the visa is H-1B, L-1, or student? 12.4% for Social Security, 2.9% for Medicare, split between employer and payroll deduction, on the first $106,800 [2009] == up to $16,340.40/employee.

Depending upon country of origin, such workers (and their employers) are NOT required to pay Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, when the workers are from one of the 24 listed nations with administrative "Totalization Agreements".

Ref: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9187281/India_seeks_tax_deal_for_H_1B_workers
          http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=105254,00.html
          http://www.socialsecurity.gov/international/totalization_agreements.html

I stopped reading this after the "Social Security is $14.7 trillion in debt" which I proceeded to look up. Please post your sources, as according to the social security administration... You're wrong. https://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/trustee10-pr-alt.pdf

> the tax rates and benefits have not been adjusted, other than the max income subject to
> the tax to indexed inflation, since 1983.

I think you mistyped 1993. See http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/pdf/t2a3.pdf

Umm your worldview is outdated, since the late 1990's there are only temporary welfare payments to non-disabled persons under 65 (those that are either disabled or over 65 do get benefits from social security and or Medicaid/Medicare but I have a feeling you were talking about non-seniors that can work but choose not to). So unless your community has a separate welfare system that is completely supported by State or Local taxes what you are complaining about isn't really possible, as eventually their checks will stop being sent. Now they could be broke and homeless and still come to the library because it's a free public space that provides shelter and internet access during the day but they wouldn't be on welfare.

Sorry, but my understanding is that women who keep getting knocked up continue to keep getting welfare benefits, and also the millions of "disabled" people out there who have "disabilities" such as not being able to read, or having a "back problem". There's an incredible amount of disability fraud out there.

Then you're understanding is wrong on both counts.

To start with "women who keep getting knocked up" are owed money, but since 1996 this money is supposed to come from the men who "knocked them up" not the general tax payer. While there still are programs like TANF, they are by nature temporary and most recipients have real incentives to get off as soon as possible.

Here is a link to a fairly concise explanation of what the Social Security Administration considers an applicable disability (hint: simple illiteracy isn't one of them and learning disabilities may fall under the American with Disabilities Act for educational and workplace accommodations but that has nothing to do with disability welfare benefits). "Disability checks" could also come from the SSI, but that also requires a source of legal income since it is an income supplement. Finally on the subject of disabilities fraud, if you have probable cause that any specific person or persons are fraudulently claiming benefitsthese people would love to hear from you!

And yes, I'm talking about non-seniors who are able-bodied but too lazy to work; anyone who's genuinely disabled, or has earned Social Security benefits through a lifetime of work, is not in the same class as these lazy cheats that our stupid system keeps enabling with my tax dollars.

While our system is far from perfect I hope you look at the links I provided and see that for over a decade it hasn't the open-ended system you described it as.

Umm your worldview is outdated, since the late 1990's there are only temporary welfare payments to non-disabled persons under 65 (those that are either disabled or over 65 do get benefits from social security and or Medicaid/Medicare but I have a feeling you were talking about non-seniors that can work but choose not to). So unless your community has a separate welfare system that is completely supported by State or Local taxes what you are complaining about isn't really possible, as eventually their checks will stop being sent. Now they could be broke and homeless and still come to the library because it's a free public space that provides shelter and internet access during the day but they wouldn't be on welfare.

Sorry, but my understanding is that women who keep getting knocked up continue to keep getting welfare benefits, and also the millions of "disabled" people out there who have "disabilities" such as not being able to read, or having a "back problem". There's an incredible amount of disability fraud out there.

Then you're understanding is wrong on both counts.

To start with "women who keep getting knocked up" are owed money, but since 1996 this money is supposed to come from the men who "knocked them up" not the general tax payer. While there still are programs like TANF, they are by nature temporary and most recipients have real incentives to get off as soon as possible.

Here is a link to a fairly concise explanation of what the Social Security Administration considers an applicable disability (hint: simple illiteracy isn't one of them and learning disabilities may fall under the American with Disabilities Act for educational and workplace accommodations but that has nothing to do with disability welfare benefits). "Disability checks" could also come from the SSI, but that also requires a source of legal income since it is an income supplement. Finally on the subject of disabilities fraud, if you have probable cause that any specific person or persons are fraudulently claiming benefitsthese people would love to hear from you!

And yes, I'm talking about non-seniors who are able-bodied but too lazy to work; anyone who's genuinely disabled, or has earned Social Security benefits through a lifetime of work, is not in the same class as these lazy cheats that our stupid system keeps enabling with my tax dollars.

While our system is far from perfect I hope you look at the links I provided and see that for over a decade it hasn't the open-ended system you described it as.

I understand your point of view, but the US has entered into social security agreements with other countrires.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/international/agreement_descriptions.html

If one is a resident of a non listed country then that person is indeed screwed.

Different guy, but I did some research. Closest is this:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssn/ssnchron.html
"To make, under federal law, unlawful disclosure or compelling disclosure of the SSN of any person a felony, punishable by fine and/or imprisonment."

I'm having difficulty pulling up the full text of that bill online. The closest I can find is a summary here.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that this law does not turn all landlords into federal felons. That law has been on the books for 32 years, so if it make it illegal for landlords to require SSN, I think the practice would be largely abolished by now. ;)

Next?

Different guy, but I did some research. Closest is this:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssn/ssnchron.html
"To make, under federal law, unlawful disclosure or compelling disclosure of the SSN of any person a felony, punishable by fine and/or imprisonment."

It is entirely possible to *legally* have the same SSN as another person, but with a different birth date.

SSN - Social Security Number; a unique nine (9)-digit number assigned by SSA to identify an individual when reporting wages, paying taxes and collecting benefits. - http://www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnvshandbk/glossary.htm

The IRS wouldn't like that very much, since they don't ask for your birthdate on a tax return.

The birthdate is generally used as a secondary qualifier on most SSN checks because the SSN verification system can check the first 5 digits to see when and where a SSN was generated. So if you see a 18-year old from New York use a SSN that was issued in 1968 to someone in California, you might just have a problem.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.14/handbook-1401.html

-m

    It's not trivial, but not impossible.

    The first 3 digits are the area (state) code.

    The next 2 digits are the group.

    The last 4 digits are the serial number.

    There is no check digit, so no further math is required to validate it.

    State codes are listed here http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/stateweb.htm

    The highest issued group as of May 01 2009 is listed here: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssns/highgroup.txt

    You can pull the high group file back to November 2003 from the SSA site here: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnvhighgroup.htm

    The group numbers are used out of order for "administrative" reasons.

    The groups are assigned as:

    ODD 01 -> 09
    EVEN 10 -> 98
    EVEN 02 -> 08
    ODD 11 -> 99

    Area 000 is never issued.
    Group 00 is never issued.
    Serial 0000 is never issued.

    The Area (state) code is based on where the card is issued, not where the person was born. If you were born in NYC, but your number was issued in California, you would have a California area (state) code.

    Now, the SSN is generally requested by the hospital, so if you have a baby born in the US, part of the stack of paperwork includes the SSN request form. In those cases, obviously the birth state and SSN state should match, unless for some odd reason the request is sent to another state.

    When I was born, there was no requirement to get a SSN issued immediately, and my family moved when I was 5, so my SSN was issued by the second state.

    The logic to test if a SSN has been issued is pretty easy with a couple tables in a DB, or a whole lot of hard coded crud that has to be updated monthly.

    It's not trivial, but not impossible.

    The first 3 digits are the area (state) code.

    The next 2 digits are the group.

    The last 4 digits are the serial number.

    There is no check digit, so no further math is required to validate it.

    State codes are listed here http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/stateweb.htm

    The highest issued group as of May 01 2009 is listed here: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssns/highgroup.txt

    You can pull the high group file back to November 2003 from the SSA site here: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnvhighgroup.htm

    The group numbers are used out of order for "administrative" reasons.

    The groups are assigned as:

    ODD 01 -> 09
    EVEN 10 -> 98
    EVEN 02 -> 08
    ODD 11 -> 99

    Area 000 is never issued.
    Group 00 is never issued.
    Serial 0000 is never issued.

    The Area (state) code is based on where the card is issued, not where the person was born. If you were born in NYC, but your number was issued in California, you would have a California area (state) code.

    Now, the SSN is generally requested by the hospital, so if you have a baby born in the US, part of the stack of paperwork includes the SSN request form. In those cases, obviously the birth state and SSN state should match, unless for some odd reason the request is sent to another state.

    When I was born, there was no requirement to get a SSN issued immediately, and my family moved when I was 5, so my SSN was issued by the second state.

    The logic to test if a SSN has been issued is pretty easy with a couple tables in a DB, or a whole lot of hard coded crud that has to be updated monthly.

    It's not trivial, but not impossible.

    The first 3 digits are the area (state) code.

    The next 2 digits are the group.

    The last 4 digits are the serial number.

    There is no check digit, so no further math is required to validate it.

    State codes are listed here http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/stateweb.htm

    The highest issued group as of May 01 2009 is listed here: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssns/highgroup.txt

    You can pull the high group file back to November 2003 from the SSA site here: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnvhighgroup.htm

    The group numbers are used out of order for "administrative" reasons.

    The groups are assigned as:

    ODD 01 -> 09
    EVEN 10 -> 98
    EVEN 02 -> 08
    ODD 11 -> 99

    Area 000 is never issued.
    Group 00 is never issued.
    Serial 0000 is never issued.

    The Area (state) code is based on where the card is issued, not where the person was born. If you were born in NYC, but your number was issued in California, you would have a California area (state) code.

    Now, the SSN is generally requested by the hospital, so if you have a baby born in the US, part of the stack of paperwork includes the SSN request form. In those cases, obviously the birth state and SSN state should match, unless for some odd reason the request is sent to another state.

    When I was born, there was no requirement to get a SSN issued immediately, and my family moved when I was 5, so my SSN was issued by the second state.

    The logic to test if a SSN has been issued is pretty easy with a couple tables in a DB, or a whole lot of hard coded crud that has to be updated monthly.

Baby boomers have got to be the biggest pack of whiny, self-indulgent motherfuckers that ever lived on this planet. Even though they are all getting old now, they still act like a bunch of goddamn teenagers. The sooner they die off, the better America will be.

A correction: "Social Security" is OASDI, a "trust fund" of government debt that will start to be drawn down in 2017 and exhausted by 2041, at least according to the last projections by the Social Security Trustees.

"Prescriptions for endless psychological disorders and sports injuries" are covered by Medicare: a separately funded program. It in even worse shape -- the "trust fund" is expected to be exhausted by 2017.

Some of us baby boomers have been pointing out the problems with both programs for the last 30 years, and have been effectively told by previous generations to STFU. But at this point, Social Security alone has collected about $500,000 from me (assuming a modest rate of return).

I didn't plan to depend on Social Security benefits. But, my expectation is that I will need them just to pay the increased income taxes that will be required to fund the current administration's spending spree. So, I will offer you the same advice given to me when I was in your position: STFU.

For each example you have given on how the US government has not provided adaquit service (schools, roads and the like), please provide an alternative private sector alternative

Some of those things, like roads are not widely available as a private sector business. So let's look at retirement, Social Security costs 15.3% of every paycheck. From everything I've seen, it won't actually be there for me to live off of when I reach retirement age. However, if I save only $500 a month at 4% interest for my 40 year career life span, at 65 I will have $590,980.66. Granted that's not huge, but it's a nice bit better than the nothing I will be getting from Social Security. And that's only if I save $500 a month, if I could save $1250 a month (15% of a $100,000 a year job) then my retirement fund would be $1,477,451.67. Which in a 4% yield savings account would give me $59,098.04 a year to live on in my retirement. So retirement, as managed my the US government sucks worse than a lemonparty link.
Now let's look at schools, I think the Washington Post has already explained this one nicely. There is a Snopes discussion of this very topic, but the main point made there is that private schools are selective, they send back the troublemakers and under performers, but that is not true of all private schools. I would like to point out that the second boarding school I linked to costs less for one year room, board, and education than what DC spends per student on education only.

And according to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/budget/2007bud.pdf, the cost of the balloned budget is what the US spends on social security in a little over a day.

Just to put it into perspective.

Who do you think paid for the care of the elderly before social security? Meaningful pensions were almost non-existent. What makes you think you could live on Social Security in 1940?

The mean life expectancy of an adult male retiring in 1940 was 12 years, seven months. The first generation of retirees under Social Security have been dead for over fifty years. Male Life Expectancy

In a service-based economy - in which physical strength and endurance becomes increasingly irrelevant - who employs - and promotes - a younger generation of workers - particularly at entry level?

On January 31, 1940, the first monthly retirement check was issued to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, in the amount of $22.54. Miss Fuller, a Legal Secretary, retired in November 1939. She started collecting benefits in January 1940 at age 65 and lived to be 100 years old, dying in 1975. History

What about the interment camps?

I'll not defend the internment of the Japanese-Americans. But it did not happen in the true war zone of Hawaii. It did not preclude service in the American military - and there could be vindication for the interned after the war was over. A Village Disappeared

An invalid (or impossible) Social Security number (SSN) is one which has not yet been assigned.

The SSN is divided as follows: the area number (first three digits), group number (fourth and fifth digits), and serial number (last four digits).
From SSA.gov
To determine if an SSN is invalid consider the following: No SSNs with an area number in the 800 or 900 series, or "000" area number, have been assigned. No SSNs with an area number above 772 have been assigned in the 700 series.

No SSN's with a "00" group number or "0000" serial number have been assigned. No SSNs with an area number of "666" have been or will be assigned. Information about the SSN and SSNs that have been assigned is available on SSA's website at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/highgroup.t xt

How the first 3 numbers are assigned
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/stateweb.ht m
NOTE: The same area, when shown more than once, means that certain numbers have been transferred from one State to another, or that an area has been divided for use among certain geographic locations.

Immigration reform could also vastly change the number of SSNs used. Heritage.org estimated 100 million immigrants over 20 years based on the first draft of th CIRA and lowered that 66 million after an ammendment. The government had lower estimates for the same bill.

Still we should have decades anyway. Adding a number to SSN would screw up the existing databases anyways, so would the government take additional steps? Possibly, two numbers - government use only and public use. Public Encryption keys? (highly doubtful I know) This type of thing could go hand in hand with National IDs.

An invalid (or impossible) Social Security number (SSN) is one which has not yet been assigned.

The SSN is divided as follows: the area number (first three digits), group number (fourth and fifth digits), and serial number (last four digits).
From SSA.gov
To determine if an SSN is invalid consider the following: No SSNs with an area number in the 800 or 900 series, or "000" area number, have been assigned. No SSNs with an area number above 772 have been assigned in the 700 series.

No SSN's with a "00" group number or "0000" serial number have been assigned. No SSNs with an area number of "666" have been or will be assigned. Information about the SSN and SSNs that have been assigned is available on SSA's website at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/highgroup.t xt

How the first 3 numbers are assigned
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/stateweb.ht m
NOTE: The same area, when shown more than once, means that certain numbers have been transferred from one State to another, or that an area has been divided for use among certain geographic locations.

Immigration reform could also vastly change the number of SSNs used. Heritage.org estimated 100 million immigrants over 20 years based on the first draft of th CIRA and lowered that 66 million after an ammendment. The government had lower estimates for the same bill.

Still we should have decades anyway. Adding a number to SSN would screw up the existing databases anyways, so would the government take additional steps? Possibly, two numbers - government use only and public use. Public Encryption keys? (highly doubtful I know) This type of thing could go hand in hand with National IDs.

The world's largest pyramid is soon to be discovered. I believe the link to this pyramid is here.

Whoops.

It varies by country, but you still might be able to collect your Social Security when you retire to Europe. Seriously, look into it. I want to move to Mexico, and I'll be able to collect it.

I just checked the SSA.gov site, and if you're planning on moving to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Russia, you're out of luck.

The other thing to consider is keeping your US bank account, and just having your SS funds direct deposited. Direct deposit is also available to banks outside the US.

More info here.

So, how about that? Your retirement just got slightly more comfortable.

For those of us not as unlucky as the original poster, there is a lot of information available at EPIC

For those of us not as unlucky as the original poster, there is a lot of information available at EPIC