Nellyanne, I am a hard working American. I do not agree with much that you say. I resent that you call people who disagree with you callous, nasty, and elitist. In fact, I resent that you call others names period...

Social Security pays a lot more than a couple of hundred dollars a month to most people.

AVERAGES for everyone receiving benefits now:

The average retirement benefit for a worker: $955 a month.

Aged couple: $1574

Widowed mother and 2 children: $1979

Aged widow(er): $920

Disabled Worker, Spouse and
One or More Children: $1497

Disabled Worker: $895

Of course, higher income workers get more, lower income workers less, although the benefit computation is skewed in favor of lower income workers. The maximum monthly retirement benefit for a worker is $1939.

Many people forget that not all of that FICA tax goes to retirement--it also provides disability insurance and survivors' insurance benefits. About 30% of today's 20 year olds will become disabled before reaching retirement age--3/4 of the workforce has no long-term disability insurance.

If SS is privatized, folks would need to use a portion of the FICA to buy disability and life insurance--it would not all be available to gamble in the stock market.

Also keep in mind that in the last century there have been three periods of at least 20 years in which the stock market remained flat or declined--not good for someone looking forward to retiring during one of those periods.

Does this mean that some degree of privatization is not a good idea. No. But it's important that people have the facts about such an important issue.

Isn't the original poster currently blogging from Paris & London while everyone here continues to argue? The poor exchange rate obviously did not keep him home

Good point, Judy!