Summary
Elon Musk called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” claiming it’s unsustainable due to long-term obligations exceeding tax revenue.
Critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, accused him of pushing privatization to benefit the wealthy. Musk also made false claims about Social Security mispayments.
His comments come amid looming Social Security cuts and restructuring. The Social Security Administration warns of potential fund shortages by 2035.
Democrats advocate for raising the tax cap on high earners to strengthen the program.
It’s not a Ponzi Scheme when there’s nobody standing to profit you dumb fucking idiot fuck. It’s been getting funded for almost 100 years, and has only recently been under fire by assholes like you who accumulate wealth and remove it from being eligible for such a social safety net. Now you’re worried we’re coming for yours and Rogan’s money to fund it, and we will.
Y’all need to stop listening to these morons pal around and podcasts. They mean to harm you and your families, and take away the already middling social programs that benefit you, not them.
“If I’m not getting rich off it, someone else is.”
That’s how conservatives, from the rich to the poor, see the world.
It’s not just recently, conservatives have been threatening social security for decades.
Recently as in the last few decades. Reagan pretty much started all this bullshit, and it’s been a tug of war since.
Only recently?
Biden attacked social security in the 90s.
The 2025 earnings tax cap for social security is $176k.
If those richest among us, like Elon who makes billions per year, had to pay social security tax on a larger percentage of their earnings, or on all of it like those of us making less than $176k annually, the system would easily be solvent in perpetuity. The only reason it’s potentially at risk is because rich assholes have lobbied successfully in order to not pay into it.
What is their counter argument, would it increase the velocity of money and inflation, raising interest rates for everyone and inhibiting economic growth? Or would it be that we’d need to raise capital gains taxes, which would cause US investment to flee?
The argument is it’s not a tax or insurance but a communal retirement fund meant to supplement private retirement benefits or keep the elderly out of poverty. It’s limited in what it pays out so your investment should be limited at the same place
People who earn $176k get the highest benefit, and they don’t get anymore no matter how much more they earn. They’re not getting more so don’t think they should pay in more.
I don’t know how the benefit is calculated but presumable if higher earners kick in more, the formula would need to change so it’s not all going back to them
Here’s my counter-argument to that:
Considering none of their companies or financial trusts would be worth anything without workers, I think we should cap the benefit at $176k and increase contributions to have no cap as a way to thank the workers. This would give people a good retirement to look forward to after a long career in service to the various institutions.
Further, if some of them still have billions after 4 years of this updated social security investment policy, we should make being so illegal and kill off the billionaires by applying a wealth tax until they’re just regular old millionaires. This would fund the now desperately needed infrastructure projects to keep the country safe and modernized.
It’s a free market so they’d be welcome to solely do business in Russia or the Cayman Islands or something, if they’d prefer.
There is no real counterargument, because they don’t need one.
Send that nazi back to South Africa
Better off being sent up to join Willzyx
Put that thing back where it came from or so help meeeee
Unfortunately US Republicans are Nazi’s. Another sad thing is our society is too stupid to see the similarities as well as afraid calling a spade a spade.
US Republicans are Nazi’s.
I understand what he is saying. It kinda looks like one at first glance, because contributions from current workers go first to pay current retirees.
But what he misses is that we did it that way on purpose. The end goal was to make Americans more secure as a country. Americans could work at their jobs and be confident that they would be taken care of in their old age by the younger generation as a whole, Americans taking care of each other. I understand that the money I pay in now is going to support my parents and their generation, and I really dont mind. We’ll see if these dimwits ruin it by the time I need it.
Everything with these MAGA idiots is zero-sum. If they are paying money to anyone, they need to be the ones getting the benefits from it, otherwise it is a “scam”. The problem with zero-sum is that there always have to be winners and losers. And if the people in power are always the winners, what does that make us?
He is in charge of this debacle. He needs to give it more than a first glance
The existence of disability insurance (SSDI), in and of itself, is enough to refute this “ponzi scheme” bullshit.
There are people who have never paid a cent into Social Security, yet receive benefits.
Imagine that with an actual ponzi scheme… Instead of giving Peter’s money to Paul, you give it to Sally who’s paraplegic, can’t work, and has paid nothing into the fund.
I understand what he is saying. It kinda looks like one at first glance, because contributions from current workers go first to pay current retirees.
But that’s how private insurance and retirement plans work too. The only difference is that private ones also benefit some rich CEOs at the top who have a vested interest to not distribute the funds.
I mean, in a way he’s not wrong. The money gets funneled from all of us all the way to the top.
But the thing is, the money does get distributed - all of it. The Ponzi at the top is us again, stealing from it to pay for infrastructure or defense spending.
And that is fine because that type of scheme with a large moat is called insurance. And so long as we can continue to pay out distributions, it is solvent.
But it isn’t solvent, because premiums haven’t kept up with payouts and the payouts for the baby boomers are massive. And if we don’t take some kind of action (e.g. increased premiums, disqualification for the rich, increase the benefit age) then payouts will eventually need to decrease.
Actually, the remedy Social Security needs is to remove the income cap. Elon Musk pays just as much into social security as I do: ~$10,900
It’s because there’s a cap: $176,100. Once you earn that much in income you don’t have to pay into social security anymore! It’s ridiculous!
Basically, the richer you are, the less you’re paying into social security as a percentage of your income. It’s the opposite of progressive (just like HSAs).
Remove the cap and people like Musk will be paying millions into Social Security every year. It’ll make it solvent again in no time at all.
Yeah no, he’s wrong. Government is not a for-profit venture. When you are providing services to citizens, it’s not a scam.
And a very merry fuel subsidy to you as well.
I mean, this system only works if we keep reproducing 2.5:1 factor. I don’t want to condemn anyone to this world, so he is right. And with the birth rates lowering this is gonna be a serious problem, for most zoomers and alphas.
We could increase immigration.
Oh, so SS is a ponzi scheme now? Well then, I hope you do something about that, Musk. And then I’d like my tens of thousands of dollars that were taken from my paycheck back, please. After all, if I paid into the system and I haven’t used any benefits yet since I’m not at retirement age, you should be able to pay me back after you seek recompense from all the “mispayments” going on, right?
This is the billionaire class trying to do a rug pull. Don’t believe their accusations of fraud and abuse, they’re doing anything they can except raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for it. It’s your money. You paid faithfully into the system. If they mismanaged the funds by borrowing against it to fuel military quagmires all around the world, that’s a “them” problem. Hold the government accountable and do not let them cancel your retirement entitlements.
Alternative headline: expert on ponzi schemes bemoans what he sees as competition
You know what, if they destroy Social Security just because Musk said so, I have no doubt there will be blood. Too many people from too many demographics in too many places rely on it just to SURVIVE, let alone abuse it in any meaningful way.
This would honestly be one of, if not the fastest ways to spark a civil war, outside of rolling troops into major cities and opening fire. Why? Because you’d suddenly have millions of people unable to feed themselves, in a country where there are significantly more guns than people, and they’d all have ample cause to march on DC.
THAT SAID, I doubt Musk and Trump have thought of that, because they’re 2 drug-addled lunatics who do not and never have cared about long-term ramifications. I’m sure other Republicans are shitting themselves in fear right now, as the Dipshit Duo get ready to kill the Political Golden Goose, but none of them can speak up for fear of losing power.
What a fucking mess.
Yeah, that would be the last nail in the coffin of me ever being able to retire so I’d have nothing left to live for at that point and I would be able to dip into enough savings to make myself a problem.
Remember, when they say Musk is a “”“Billionaire Genius”“”, THIS is who they’re talking about. A raging Ketamine addict with a massive ego problem.
“Full self-driving”
The favorite dumb argument from the guys who constantly defraud governments via tax dodging and subsidies.
Despicable thief and con man.
Lol Bro doesn’t know what a Ponzi Scheme is
He doesn’t know what almost anything really is, despite all the bullshit he spouts. He’s the human embodiment of the Dunning Kruger effect.
The entire stock market is basically a ponzi scheme.
Push pensions, 401k, 529, HSA money into one spot and then rug the whole market every few years.
If Musk dislikes “Ponzi schemes,” maybe start by rejecting government subsidies for his ventures.
🐱🐱
No no no, not like that. - Moscow musk
Okay crypto-fascist whatever you say
It’s one of the most popular social programs in American history. It’s also OUR FUCKING MONEY ELON.
Popular… except i have grown up being told that ss was something i paid into but would not be available for me.
Does he feel like way about all pension programs or just the ones he is trying to plunder?
Yes
