NUGENT: Social Security: Anti-social and insecure

OPINION:

Americans have been used, strung along, ripped off, manipulated and frightened for decades by runaway gangs of power-mongering, deceptive politicians.

I give you Social Security. As usual, it is the exact opposite of what we have been told. This classic Ponzi scheme is anti-social and insecure.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created Social Security 75 years ago. As with many other Fedzilla programs, Americans got suckered into believing Social Security was a healthy, wealthy and wise program.

Social Security is bloated, broke and busted. FDR’s New Deal turned out to be the Rip-off Deal.

There is an IOU for $2.5 trillion in the Social Security trust fund. Our elected bandits stole all the Social Security taxes collected over the years and spent it on who knows what.

The Congressional Budget Office recently stated that Social Security will pay out $45 billion more this year than what it takes in. Deficits such as this are projected until Social Security rolls over and goes completely belly-up 25 years from now.

The only way to truly reform Social Security is to sink it. Settling for anything less than the total destruction of this financial sinkhole would be perpetuating the problem and allowing Fedzilla to continue to pick the pockets of future generations of Americans.

We must have the guts and national resolve to remove the crushing tax burden of this Ponzi scheme from the backs of future Americans. Only Fedzilla and Bernard Madoff think robbing Peter to pay Paul is good business.

Eliminating Social Security isn’t our Sputnik moment. It’s our sink-the-Bismarck moment.

We can’t sink it today, but we can begin planning today how to sink it.

My proposal to sink the anti-Social Insecurity Bismarck is a plan that is very painful and arguably unfair, will take resolve and commitment, and will require a tremendous amount of sacrifice by all Americans.

First, we need to pass whatever law is needed to keep the Jesse James-like hands of Congress off the dollars collected from Social Security. No more stealing.

Second, we need to take the cap off of the Social Security tax. Currently, only the first $107,000 earned is taxed. We need to take the lid off and tax all income. We need the money. Yes, that will be a tax increase for some Americans. This is pain and real sacrifice.

Third, there must be means-testing. If a retired person or couple has more than a certain amount in assets, they will not receive Social Security or will receive limited benefits. This will be a huge sacrifice, but tough times require tough people who are willing to sacrifice for the future good of the nation.

Fourth, we need to raise the retirement age now. It is a fact that people are living longer. Retirees today will collect more from Social Security than what they paid in, while the pool of workers paying into Social Security is shrinking . That is an upside-down, unsustainable model. Shovel on more personal pain and sacrifice.

Fifth, people in the work force will be required to continue to pay into Social Security in order to pay for the masses of baby boomers retiring, but the people younger than 45 will not receive Social Security. We will have sunk the Bismarck by the time they would have reached the age to receive Social Security.

What people under the age of 45 will get in return for continuing to pay into Social Security that they will not receive are their 401(k) and IRAs completely tax-free when they retire.

My recommendation is a platform of pain and sacrifice, but it is for the long-term good of America.

The GOP should be telling young Americans that it is their responsibility to save and invest for their retirement and if they start saving today, they will amass a fortune over their careers. They should be told Social Security is a scam, a flat-out smoke-and-mirrors Ponzi scheme, pure and simple.

We can do it. Let’s sink the Bismarck. What say you, GOP?

Ted Nugent is an American rock ’n’ roll, sporting and political activist icon. He is the author of “Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto” and “God, Guns & Rock ’N’ Roll” (Regnery Publishing).