The claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme is nonsense -- though it seems to fit the definition at first glance, if you think through it far enough you will see it does not fit.<p>Since a Ponzi scheme is defined as an &quot;investment&quot;, it is therefore voluntary. A Ponzi scheme can only obtain such volunteers if it promises each volunteer investor more than it pays in. It therefore requires an ever-growing pool of investors. Since there is a finite number of people on the planet, a Ponzi scheme must fail at some point.<p>By contrast, Social Security is a mandatory scheme, and the pay-in and pay-out can be dynamically adjusted to ensure that it remains solvent. In particular, no guarantee is made that pay-out will exceed pay-in.  Do not mistake the impending Social Security deficit for an inherent outcome of the scheme. The deficit could easily be fixed if politicians on both sides would stop pandering to their bases.