To quote economist Michelle Clark Neely, “Frequently called ‘the third rail of American politics’—touch it and you die—social security reform is an issue that prompts heated debates among its supporters and detractors.”

History New Network editor Rick Shenkman provides this tidbit of Social Security history:

“In 1964 Barry Goldwater lost the presidency in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson in part because of the perception that Goldwater was hostile to Social Security. But it wasn’t until the early 1980s that Social Security became known as the third rail of American politics. It was House Speaker Tip O’Neill who coined the phrase and O’Neill who, more than anyone, made Social Security murderous to touch.” [Quote Source]

Now, Elon Musk has entered the Social Security fray by calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme.

From USA Today: “The CEO of companies including Tesla and SpaceX argued that the U.S. ‘better fix’ its entitlement systems because birth rates have fallen and post-retirement life expectancy has increased.”

In general, Elon Musk is correct about the statistics that he mentions, as indicated by the following graphs.

This blogger understands why Elon Musk would call Social Security a Ponzi scheme. As indicated by the above-shown life-expectancy graph, when Social Security was enacted in 1935, less than 50% of Americans lived long enough to qualify for Social Security. American politicians didn’t have to worry about the fiscal health of Social Security as long as more workers paid into the system than took out of the system.

Yet, it is a bit too much to call Social Security a Ponzi scheme, because the latter tells its victims that they can acquire more money than they already have by investing in the scheme. In short, a Ponzi scheme is get-rich-quick scheme, with only the people at the top getting rich.

In contrast, workers who pay into Social Security are expecting to get out of it what they pay into it.

CNBC quotes former Social Security commissioner Martin O’Malley as saying, “I think many people throughout the country are going to start bringing a lot of heat to members of Congress who have been facilitating, supporting, aiding and abetting the breaking of their Social Security and the interruption of benefits that they work their whole lives to earn. These are earned benefits.”

As it turns out, those earned benefits aren’t that much. The Social Security Administration reports, “The estimated average amount changes monthly. For example, the estimated average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for January 2025 is $1,976.” That amount is more than what this blogger receives in monthly SSDI payments, which is his only source of income.

Sure, the Social Security system may need repairs. However, Elon Musk isn’t Fix-It Felix. Instead, he is Wreck-It Ralph minus Ralph’s charm.