So why didn't you just say that Social Security should pay a bigger benefit? You did not say what benefit the publicly funded retirement system you are advocating should pay.

What I think should happen is first we need to end the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. Then those programs should be funded from the general funds just like other social programs. This would end the cries that Social Security is running out of money. That is just a red herring to cut the benefits. If the government can run deficits, then so could social security. The benefits should not be dependent on how much money is in the kitty but on what is fair. Right now, the benefit is based on how much you paid in. In a reformed system you would not be paying in and then everyone would get the same benefit. I will need my Social Security less than you, but I will be getting more than twice as much.

If you read my other responses you would see, Social Security is enough for some people to live on. Technically your social security benefits would put you above the federal poverty level for a single person. It is also more than a person working for minimum wage would make in many states. If you and your partner each received a benefit of that amount your household income just from Social Security would put you in work class or lower middle-class territory. Probably in the third decile of income distribution. That does not count any income from your writing or from investments. If you did not have to pay rent or a mortgage and have Medicare, you could not live on $1,500 a month?

TEK