Social Security may or may not be worth saving. Much as with Girl Scout Cookies, the issue is probably one of framing.
To be quite clear: The Social Security program isn’t an investment. I think that’s the most difficult concept for me to get through my head. I’m not socking away money so that I’ll have it later when I retire. I’m providing it so that the government can give it to someone else.
While I don’t necessarily have a problem with giving to those less fortunate, I really dislike that we’re absolutely forced to do so. You simply cannot opt-out of Social Security. On occasion, you may be able to get off a spammer’s mailing list. Not Social Security. Once you’re in, you’re in for good.
I can understand the concept behind the program – providing a safety net of sorts for people who are unable to provide their own. What really torks me, though, is that it’s one more example (in a growing list of them) of how our country is governed to the least common denominator.