re: Social Security - Help me understand better

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You are being either willfully ignorant or technically pedantic. Regardless of how it is "sold" (what does that mean anyway?) it operates as ponzi scheme. And even if not technically correct, people opposed cuts because they put in "their money" so they deserve the benefits they "earned."

"Using new investor funds to pay prior investors" is a key ingredient of a ponzi scheme. How it was "sold" is irrelevant.

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It does not operate as a ponzi scheme. A ponzi scheme is sold to potential investors with claims that their money plus a substantial amount more will be repaid in a short period of time based on the investment of that money. The scheme is perpetuated by paying the early investors with the money of the subsequent investors with the person doing the selling taking a portion for their trouble. It is doomed to fail from conception because it relies on an increasing number of investors when there is a finite number of investors and eventually some investors are not going to get paid and the jig is, as they say, up.

Social security, on the other hand, has NEVER made any claims that anyone would be paid from their money being invested in anything. It has always been upfront in how it would be funded...nearly all working people would pay some, and most people would be eligible for a modest income should they become too old to work, physically unable to do so or were orphaned an unable to work due their being a child. Social Security also never made any claims that anyone would be repaid all of their money plus some in a short period of time. It is understood that, barring some tragedy, that most people will wait 45 years or longer before seeing any money from the fund. If they become disabled or orphan their kids they or their kid will see some but the payer will wait a while in most instances. It is also understood should you die before being eligible and do not have any dependents that you will see nothing from the fund. Further it is understood that the benefits you recieve will be limited regardless ofhow much you pay in...there is a ceiling that is reached in benefit amount that no one surpasses.

So it is easy to see that a person who is stating SS is not a Ponzi scheme is being honest and truthful while anyone claiming otherwise is most likely villifying a program that is a smashing sucess in its core mission or simply ignorant.