I was sitting in the living room with my aunt, a retired teacher, discussing the finer points of politics when inevitably the topic of Social Security came up with my AARP age family member. Now, my aunt is one step ahead of my grandmother realizing the system is just slightly more than failed. She realizes that she has been paying all her life with not much hope for return in the coming years and that for the younger members of our family the situation gets even worse.

Social Security was originally intended to be left alone and used only for retirement benefits for those who “invested” into the program. Matt Whittlief of United Liberty compares Social Security with a Ponzi Scheme: take money from investors to pay off prior investors.

“You invest in the fund with the promise of future returns, but, in fact, there is no investment made by the administrator. The only source of funds for the returns is new investment…

In other words, more taxes are collected from current workers than are paid out as welfare to beneficiaries. But, like all Ponzi schemes, this will come to an end. The welfare for beneficiaries will exceed contributions sometime in the next 10-20 years as baby boomers retire.”

My aunt, like Ron Paul, agrees that a change has to be made. We need to get my generation out of the deal. While my puny paycheck dwindles to pay for Social Security, a growing number of retiring baby-boomers and increased government spending project Social Security to be gone 2017. What do I get? Nothing. Check out this clip from the documentary I.O.U.S.A

Social Security by 2017