Elon Musk Calls Social Security 'The Biggest Ponzi Scheme Of All Time'
www.huffpost.com
The tech billionaire argued Friday on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast that one of America's most enduring social safety nets is an insidious ploy.

Summary

Elon Musk called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” claiming it’s unsustainable due to long-term obligations exceeding tax revenue.

Critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, accused him of pushing privatization to benefit the wealthy. Musk also made false claims about Social Security mispayments.

His comments come amid looming Social Security cuts and restructuring. The Social Security Administration warns of potential fund shortages by 2035.

Democrats advocate for raising the tax cap on high earners to strengthen the program.

  • KoboldCoterieEnglish
    9·
    1 day ago

    And if that minimum is, say, 5:1 workers to older retirees, that implies a population in a state of exponential demographic growth.

    Well, not necessarily; it relies on the average person working for 5x as long as they spend retired. If we start working at 20, and retire at 65, and the ratio is 5:1, then it allows for an average of 9 years of retirement per person before we die. The problem is that now people are living a lot longer than they were in the 1920s, which is why there’s been discussion if raising the benefits age to 70. This would allow for 10 years of benefits, taking us to an average lifespan of 80 (which happens to be just about what the average lifespan in the US actually is.)

    If the population is stagnant, but the age distribution remains steady, this would let the system self-sustain. It becomes problematic when there’s a higher ratio of retirees to people just entering the workforce, though.