Social Insecurity: How to Survive the Coming Prosperity and Retire at Twice Your Final Salary

Social Security is sacrosanct and few politicians risk the ire of the believers by questioning its adequacy or solvency. At a time of unprecedented prosperity and prospects for an even better 21st century, Social Security is, in fact, the greatest barrier between much of the nation and a comfortable retirement. At the same time, Medicare costs are growing steadily. In several other countries, government sponsored pension plans return 2-3 times as much as Social Security. A simple change in attitudes plus an understanding of the time value of money would allow most Americans to fully participate in the growing prosperity and narrow the ever widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us. Social InSecurity delves into the misconceptions that give our misbegotten public pension system a Teflon aura, and exposes many other government programs and statistical analyses that are actually counterproductive rather than help us cope with the arduous task of providing for our families and our own elder years. It presents reforms that require no increase in taxes, nor reduced Social Security benefits to achieve the goal of retiring at twice your final salary, plus outlines an approach that could help solve the medical care problem.