[legion]

I was being slightly facetious.

I was just trying to make the point that the lawsuits are a major problem, but not the only problem. We can fix the tort system and the prescription drug business; we can't do anything about the average age of a person living in this country going up (which is causing both a healthcare problem and a social security problem).

Seriously though, my friends know not to mention lawyers or lawsuits around me because I'm apt to launch into an anti-plaintiff's attorney rant.

There is no easy solution to the Social Security problem, but as I see it, these are the alternatives:

1)Do nothing. I think this would turn even the successful of my generation into the working poor as they struggle to pay the taxes needed to support the lifestyles of the retired 'Boomers. (This is where the "My generation is so screwed" comment came from...)

2)Allow people to manage their own Social Security contributions. This is the plan currently being thrown out by the President. Someone who knows how to manage money might do well with this plan. Someone who is always trying to strike it rich (and taking on huge amounts or risk without realizing it) would probably end up worse off. Either way, this takes money away from current and soon-to-be retirees in order to give it back to those whose retirement will be further off.

3)End the practice of retirement. You don't work today, you don't eat today. This would eliminate the need for Social Security and allow my generation to spend, spend, spend without a care. It's also what no one wants.

What I think will happen is more or less a combination of the three things I presented above. The retirement age will go up (kinda option 3), people will still have to pay into traditional Social Security for the time being, but my generation will probably be allowed to take individual ownership of some of that money and that will be all that we will get for our retirement (in addition to 401ks, pensions, IRAs, etc...)