A Cato Institute poll on Social Security highlighted the differences between the young and the old regarding one of America’s oldest socialist programs. The poll was published in December 2025, but its results went viral this week. The key finding highlighted was the willingness of senior citizens, at 89%, to tax working Americans rather than face a cut in benefits. This majority decreases among the strata until the under 29 crowd which narrowly opposes a tax hike.
Cato’s findings also found that the majority of young people do not know how Social Security works. They naively think that the recipients are merely receiving their own money and not the current deductions from their paychecks. Just over half of all Americans (51%) actually know payroll taxes are used to fund current retirees. The redistributive aspect of Social Security was also unknown:
Few Americans realize that Social Security is redistributive—lower earners generally receive more than they paid in, while higher earners receive less. Only 28% correctly understand this. A third (33%) believe everyone gets back roughly what they contributed plus some interest, and a plurality (40%) say they’re not sure. Social Security was designed such that lower-income earners receive a higher replacement rate relative to what they paid in and higher income earners receive a lower replacement rate relative to their contributions.
On average, Boomers are getting paid more from Social Security than they “paid into it.” A lot more. Like double, and that’s counting inflation and interest. In raw dollars, they’ll get four to seven times what they paid in. So what about this compromise, to at least stave off insolvency and save billions: you get back what you paid in, but no more. Young families won’t be forced to finance a 250 percent return on your “investment.” That seems extremely reasonable, doesn’t it? It doesn’t go nearly as far as I would like. But it’s a very fair compromise. It completely negates any claim that you didn’t get the money back that you “paid in.” And yet I suspect that this comprise will not be satisfactory. Why is that? Because this debate actually has nothing to do with “getting back what you paid in.” The REAL demand is for a lot more than that.
The boomercon mantra that we all grew up with was, “Socialism works until you run out of other people’s money.” With Social Security, this is already the case and insolvency approaches as early as 2032 on the current trajectory. After that the program will have depleted its reserves and will be paying out what comes in. Each recipient would continue to receive a monthly payment, but the amount would be scaled to roughly 78 percent of the full scheduled amount.
This is far less consequential than it appears. Congress does not have to respond because the program is managing itself. The political feasibility of practicing austerity however is a landmine.
Thus, the impending political battle will be Boomer politicians raising the payroll taxes to extend their full benefit schedule. The problem with democracy is that people vote to give themselves more stuff. And surely this will happen just like when a cold threatened the elderly; this generation shut the whole world down in response.
Working Americans have been in the slow-boiling water for a long time, as the number decreases to 2.6 workers per Social Security recipient. With this majority, the workers ought to fight for their paychecks not to be garnished any further. Employers ought to fight not to pay higher payroll taxes. This is an uphill battle. Social Security was deeply unpopular when it was announced because it was a tax, but now it’s America’s favorite form of socialism. America faces a choice of picking winners and losers with this impending battle. Americans might not have an opportunity to realistically break the cycle of Ponzi scheming, but we also do not have to give in to socialist demands for higher taxes on people who are already struggling more than previous generations.
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Boomers are taxed through real estate tax to “educate” (indoctrinate) the young, right? All of Federal Government, the cost of its workers and its agencies have no value including its schools. Take that money and pay retirees. Had the lies been made clear to Boomers how many would have supported the existence of most of Government they paid for? Boomers are at the tail end of a life of Government lies. If these statistics presented here are true, SS would be one of the few endeavors of Government where the politicians actually did what the majority of Boomers wanted. If told the truth of real costs. This including killing them in wars, aborting their babies, importing godless foreigners, allowing the natural resources refined in their lifetimes to go overseas, oil and natural gas obtained on American soil exported into a world market jacking the prices at home. (The export of oil products and natural gas used to be against the law due to national security. Trump changed the Law for Natural gas.) The Chinese own Boomer farmland and most of US pork production, If properly explained to Boomers who would support the resultant price increases on everyone not just old retirees. In truth politicians are not doing things boomers would want in majority (chemtrails fluoridation of water, pointless polution devices on cars, blah blah blah)why single out this issue and not discuss things like the 2008 financial collapse that redistributed their homes out from under them. How many of Boomers would have supported the closing of the Economy for Covid, if told the truth about that hoax? Would most Boomers oppose the policy? The SS trust fund is a lie filled with IOU’s, how many were told that? Government takes in enough money for SS recipients without raising the tax, what Government will not do is reduce itself to pay the Boomers without stealing from the young.
Social Security, at its beginning was arguably an insurance program, with workers paying premiums they eventually got back in retirement. Unfortunately, the premiums were not invested to pay future benefits as planned and claimed, but rather spent by Congress on other things. In addition, additional benefits were continually added beyond what the insurance premiums could actually afford. The doom of any such system is guaranteed.
My own response has been to accept any benefit I’m sent, however long it lasts, without relying on it or expecting it to continue. Also, live frugally, passing on as much as possible to help younger generations.