But it isn ' t a scam at all . We pay taxes so old people can more easily exit the work force and be in less desperate circumstances than they otherwise would be . We do this because our grandparents did it for their grandparents , and we ' ll expect our grandchildren to do it for us . It ' s entitlement spending because our elderly are entitled to a certain income . They ' re entitled to this because we say they are . This is a purely political decision that happens to work very well . get outraged like me whenever someone talks about social security going bankrupt , or raiding the social security trust , or cutting benefitsThis is wrongheaded . Social Security can ' t go bankrupt so long as we ' re willing to accept the tax obligation necessary to maintain benefit payments . The trust fund is invested in Treasury bonds hardly a moneymaking investment , and has only operated at a surplus since the 1980 s . This surplus will run out in the 2030 s . If program changes haven ' t been implemented by then benefit cuts , tax hikes , program tweaks , etc then the program will pay out around 75 % of it ' s current benefits using it ' s current tax income . There ' s also the possibility of running the program at a deficit for a few decades , though it probably wouldn ' t be popular . It ' s not astroturf or propaganda . It ' s not hyperbole . Social Security is a transfer program that uses existing tax income to provide elderly people with a level of subsistence income that relieves the working population of some of the financial burden of caring for them . For example , if my mother didn ' t get a Social Security check she ' d probably have to live with me for free .