1a: Your lack of belief in reality is not my problem, it is for you and your psychologist to deal with.

1b: I repeat, AGAIN, this is a mathematical comparison of Social Security and a standard investment. My example uses only 4% and outperforms Social Security's much, MUCH, larger withholding. You are complaining that a low income earner can't afford to invest 4% of their earnings while COMPLETELY ignoring that Social Security is already taking much more. Your objection is completely illogical, in addition to being irrelevant. The entire point is that MATHEMATICALLY Social Security is a bad investment program.

1c: Whatever its purpose, it performs it INCREDIBLY inefficiently. Something either works well, or it does not. SS does not. That does not meant that it has not helped people, it means that it has not helped people well enough. It is not unreasonable, or uncaring, to require the Federal government to use my (the tax payers) money effectively and efficiently. We work hard for our money. If Uncle Sam takes it from us, we have the right, and they have the obligation, to use it efficiently. They usually don't.

3: We are going to have to agree to disagree, because we are apparently coming form 2 entirely different places, with no common ground, on what the proper role of government is. I believe that it is the moral obligation of the people to take care of people, it is the government's role to protect the country, so that the people are free to meet their obligations. As for me "grumbling" I have 2 points. First, there is our Freedom of speech, which meas that complaining about my government is a Constitutionally protected right, some would even go so far as to call it an obligation. Secondly, it is MY money they are taking, and they are then wasting much of it.

When someone takes a loaf of bread from you, and then hands me back a few crumbs, I will not smile and say thanks, nor should anyone else. Your position is that I should be happy cause many who are less fortunate than myself are getting crumbs too, ignores the fact that they too had a loaf taken from them. I do not agree that it is or should be the responsibility of the federal government to provide for the financial well being of any person. However, since they have decided to do so, and a majority of my fellow citizens currently agree that they should, I can accept the fact that they have. Thus I can, and everyone should, demand that they perform that action effectively and efficiently; but they have not. If you think that wanting the government to perform a function well makes me a parasite, I have to seriously wonder where you learned the language.