But it is a Ponzi scheme.
Gov. Rick Perry was right about Social Security. It is a “monstrous lie.”
Only not as monstrous as it used to be, because almost everybody has figured out the scam.

Do you know anyone under 40 who believes Social Security is going to be there for them?
Do you know anyone under 40 who wouldn’t quit the program if the government gave them half a chance, and half a refund?
Why do you think more than 60 percent of the population starts collecting the instant they’re eligible? Sure, they hate their jobs, but they also want to beat the inevitable run on the bank.
Every autumn, the Social Security Administration sends me a pamphlet explaining to me how much I’ve paid into Social Security and Medicare, and how much I can expect to get out every month. Now I’ve heard even Social Security is including a caveat that they’re only going to be able to pay a certain portion (78 percent?) of what they’ve been promising.
As recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there were still old-timers who thought they were just collecting the money they’d paid in. They weren’t very good at math. The Democrats used to tell them that everything that had been deducted from their paychecks was stashed in a “lockbox,” like a safe-deposit box at the bank, and your money was there.
You know what would be in the lockbox, if there was one? IOU’s dating back to the Johnson administration. And maybe if you’re lucky, a thank-you note from Auntie Zeituni. Lockbox is one of those big government lies, like earmarked funds and taxes that sunset.
When was the last time a Democrat won an election by waving the bloody shirt of Social Security? Was it the Florida primary of 1992, when Bill Clinton accused the late Paul Tsongas of wanting to throw old people into the street, and Tsongas had no money to respond because his campaign treasurer Nick Rizzo had embezzled all the funds?
By 2000, during the Bush-Gore presidential debates, whenever Albert mentioned the “lockbox” it sounded like a punch line.
All you need to know is that when Social Security was started, 20 people were paying in for every recipient. You couldn’t start collecting until you turned 65. And the average American only lived to the age of 62. If Bernie Madoff had those kinds of actuarial numbers, he’d still be living in Palm Beach, instead of Club Fed.
Romney’s handlers and the Democrats were giddy Wednesday night after the debate. They thought Perry had made a big mistake. I don’t think so, unless somebody can use all our lockboxes.