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From a WSJ blog entry by Josh Zumbrun. If the link does not work "Google" the article as it is live still.
"A growing body of research in recent years points to the striking fact that wealthier people are living significantly longer than less wealthy people, and the gap appears to be widening. Just this week, a study led by Stanford University economist Raj Chetty, showed that life expectancy differed for the top 1% and bottom 1% of the income distribution by 15 years for men and by 10 years for women."
And before anyone chimes in and says it is because wealthier people 'live healthier lifestyles and eat healthier food'. . . . .
Obviously. Because they can afford to and typically do not have jobs that wear their bodies down prior to their late 50s.
So: Social Security is in fact held up and funded by alot of working class people that are required to pay the SS tax and then burn out and die before they receive even $1 of it back. And the Ponzi scheme becomes reverse welfare for the wealthy.
maybe welfare will reduce itself eventually ha ha ha . then they can take the money going to those who don't work and put in the ss fund for those who do work
I don't think this is surprising at all. Aside from the obvious benefits of wealth like access to health care, many poor people are poor for a couple of health-related reasons: drug and alcohol addiction and pre-existing health conditions that prevent individuals from working.
So: Social Security is in fact held up and funded by alot of working class people that are required to pay the SS tax and then burn out and die before they receive even $1 of it back.
The initial post is based on sound logic but your conclusion is flawed unless you can demonstrate the overwhelming majority of social security funding comes from working class people who die before 62/65/67/whenever benefit is claimed. There is a huge difference between wealthy people living longer and working class people never receiving $1 being the majority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skydive Outlaw
And the Ponzi scheme becomes reverse welfare for the wealthy.
And yet another person doesn't understand the definition of a ponzi scheme...
Even with this difference in life expectancy, the lower income worker is still getting more out of the system relative to what they paid in than the higher income worker.
From the article: "Social Security is designed so that people who pay more into the system receive more in benefits. After accounting for the differences in life expectancy, higher-income men who retire at 62 will receive five times their annual income from the system, whereas lower-income men will receive seven times their annual income. At age 70, higher-income men receive seven times their annual income, compared with nine times for lower-income men."
Also, it doesn't seem to take in to account that the lower income worker is more likely to be on SSDI (disability) or to eventually need Medicaid for a nursing home, vs. a higher income person.
Social Security still benefits lower income workers much more than it benefits higher income workers. It is certainly NOT some sort of wealth transfer from the working and middle class to the wealthy - in fact it is quite the opposite.
In this sense, the GAO notes, the system is still progressive. Just increasingly less so. Another caveat: Social Security benefits eventually max out entirely. Millionaires can’t earn multiples of their income from the system.
I've maxed out my Social Security contribution since age 26. Inflation-adjusted, I'd have to live to 100 to get back what my employers and I have contributed to the program. Sure, I have a higher life expectancy. I probably won't have the self-inflicted chronic health problems that the working poor get. I don't smoke and that's by far the biggest contributor to shortened life expectancy. I actually go to the doctor every year for a physical. Most Medicaid people don't even though they can do it at no cost. I get daily exercise. I'm aware of my nutrition. I don't do drugs or drink heavily. I'm at the dentist every 4 months getting my teeth cleaned.
Social Security is still a progressive system. Affluent people have behaviors that increase their average lifespan. The poor decision making the less affluent make throughout their lives applies equally to economic/financial decisions and personal health decisions.
I don't think this is surprising at all. Aside from the obvious benefits of wealth like access to health care, many poor people are poor for a couple of health-related reasons: drug and alcohol addiction and pre-existing health conditions that prevent individuals from working.
I think there is more to it than that, since we've always had alcohol.
The bigger issue is why in the hell are the gaps widening? Look at women. Low income women born in 1940 have a lower life expectancy than they had in 1920.
A couple years ago when I investigated this, I discovered that there is a reversal when you get old enough. The chart I posted above is for life expectancy at age 55. For people who make it to 80, the average life expectancy shifts in favor of the poor; an 80 year old poor person has an average life expectancy that is higher than an 80 year old rich person. I think the reason must be that the sickly poor are already dead by then, while many of the sickly rich are still alive. Medical life extension can only do so much.
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