Put an end to Social Security.

Social Security commonly is portrayed as benefiting most, if not all, Americans by providing them "risk-free" financial security in old age. This is a fraud, charges the Ayn Rand Institute, Irvine, Calif.

Under Social Security, lower-and middle-class individuals are forced to pay a significant portion of their income--approximately 12%--for the alleged purpose of securing their retirement. That money is not saved or invested, but transferred directly to the program's current beneficiaries--with the "promise" that, when current taxpayers get old, the income of future taxpayers will be transferred to them. Since this scheme creates no wealth, any benefits one person receives in excess of his or her payments necessarily come at the expense of others.

Under Social Security, every aspect of the government's promise to provide financial security is at the mercy of political whim. The government can change how much of a person's money it takes--it has increased payroll taxes 17 times since 1935. The government can spend a person's money on anything it wants--observe the Iongtime practice of using any annual Social Security surplus on other entitlement programs. The government can alter when (and therefore, if) it chooses to pay someone benefits and how much they consist of--witness the current proposals to raise the age cutoff or lower future benefits. Under Social Security, whether an individual gets twice as much from others as was taken from him or her, or half as much, or nothing at all, is entirely at the discretion of politicians. A citizen cannot count on Social Security for anything--except a massive drain on his or her income.

If Social Security did not exist--if taxpayers were free to use that 12% of their income as they chose--the ability to better their future would be incomparably greater. People could save for retirement with a diversified, long-term, productive investment in stocks or bonds--or they reasonably could choose not to devote all 12% to retirement. They might decide to work far past the age of 65. They might opt to...