August 14, 1935: A day that shall live in infamy

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

I received an email from the Social Security Administration on Aug. 14 celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Administration (SSA).  

The SSA is the biggest scam ever foisted on the U.S. population. It was promulgated by maybe our most socialistic president to date – Franklin Roosevelt (sadly, a distant cousin).

The idea was perhaps commendable, the execution has been criminal. I believe in fiduciary duty among those charged with administering others’ funds. This goes for all governments everywhere, but especially a service such as Social Security.

If the Social Security Administration were subject to the rules, regulations and audits of the Securities and Exchange Commission, there is no doubt all administrators and accounting methods of Social Security would be corrected. Many of the administrators would be in jail.

When I say I believe in fiduciary duty, I am a fanatic on the subject. For instance, the act of the SSA sending out a self-congratulations email upon its 90th anniversary, I view as a misappropriation of the funds confiscated from us unwilling participants.

When one wants to question the investments made with the funds stolen from us, the response is always “this is a pay-as-you-go system.” Why is that even legal? Every place I freely save money for my retirement, I carefully study the rate of return and safety of the investment.

With Social Security, the money is simply confiscated at a rate the government sets and the return is at the rate a government sets. There is no comparison with other investments choices because this is not a choice – it is confiscation – a procedure that no public investment fund would be allowed to do.

The government relies on the low average intelligence of the population to be happy with whatever crumbs they throw our way, no accountability required. They expect us to never question whether these returns are as high as they could be.

I made my first Social Security payment in March 1970. Here we are in August 2025, 665 months later, and I am still paying into Social Security because I still work. I would estimate that the return I have received on average on my “investment” has been less than 3%.  

Inflation has been more than this over this time period.

Trump talks about draining the swamp and poor fiduciary responsibility on the part of the federal government. It would be great if he would fix the SSA monster.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.

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