Musk calls Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme”

March 4th, 2025

Author

SGT
March 04, 2025

Salty Ginger Talk Newsletter

March 4th, 2025

Check out our Tuesday newsletter, now buzzing on Beehiiv! 🐝 Stay tuned for fresh updates, exclusive content, and more delivered straight to your inbox.

CURRENT EVENTS

Musk calls Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme”

Our take: 

Charles Ponzi was born in Italy and immigrated to the US in the early 1900s. He gained fame in the 1920s as a con man who invented a new kind of swindle.

Ponzi figured out that he could use new investors money to pay off older investors their returns if he could raise money fast enough, essentially kicking the can down the road far enough to enrich himself before anyone figured out what was going on.

On The Joe Rogan Experience Monday, Elon Musk correctly compared the structure of social security to the Ponzi structure. Founded in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Social Security was designed to provide retirement income for those too old to work. At its inception, American life expectancy was around 60 years old, and the retirement age was 65.

The idea was that future generations would be larger than previous generations and would be able to fund the program for the minority of each generation that actually made it to retirement age. In other words, they thought they could raise money faster than they had to spend it—like a Ponzi scheme!

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.

"There are fewer babies being born," the billionaire said on the mega-popular podcast, "and you have more people who are retired that live for a long time and get [Social Security] payments."

This is not hard to figure out. The system was designed on a flawed model of how the US population would grow in the future. It’s long past time we develop an alternative to the current Social Security model. Even if you close your eyes when you drive down the wrong side of the road, the vehicle coming right at you will still hit you, even if you ignore it.

COURTESY: MSN

Bondi says she was “misled” on Epstein documents

Our take: 

We were excited when Pam Bondi was nominated by Trump to serve as the next Attorney General. An accomplished attorney who served as the AG in Florida, one of the largest and most complex states in the country, she came across as a no-nonsense, tough-minded prosecutor who would not take shit from anyone.

Unfortunately, her first “big” act as the newly sworn-in AG has not done much to support those assessments. Bondi vowed to release the “full Epstein” file, referencing disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes against minors and was in jail awaiting trial on similar charges when he died under suspicious circumstances.

Many have long thought Epstein was murdered (rather than killing himself) to keep the rich and powerful names in his Rolodex out of the news and out of jail. They have demanded to see the unredacted files that were assembled in anticipation of Epstein’s trial.

When the files were released Thursday, they were a retread of previously released documents. Many were livid, claiming the government was still covering for the rich and powerful. Bondi claims she was “duped” and vowed to get to the bottom of the issue.

Bondi said she found out from a “whistleblower” after releasing 100 pages of flight logs and Epstein’s contact lists that the U.S. The District Court for the Southern District of New York is “sitting on thousands of pages of documents” that had not been handed over to her. She is now seeking additional information through the FBI. 

Here is hoping that Bondi makes good on her word. This is such an easy win for her and the DOJ and would be a good step in rebuilding trust in the government that many have lost.

COURTESY: YAHOO

Massive power outage at BWI strands thousands of passengers

Our take:

Baltimore-Washington International Airport is one of the busiest on the East Coast. It came to a screeching halt on Monday when a power outage delayed 150 flights and cancelled another 50.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the power outage impacted Terminals A, B, and C and that "the FAA is pausing Southwest Airlines flights."

Some flights resorted to using air stairs to deplane passengers, the airport said. 

A spokesperson for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company said the outage, which was first reported around 7:40 a.m., was caused by a downed power line near the airport, according to FOX Baltimore. 

Yikes! Thank goodness we were not traveling today. Spending time hanging out in an airport is about as much fun as waiting in the dentist's office for your root canal. No bueno.

COURTESY: FOX BUSINESS

TIP OF THE DAY

If you want evidence that the world is a terrible place, watch the news and surf the internet. If you want to remember how incredible this planet is, go out into nature. Unlike social media and the news, nature has no incentive to keep us agitated, angry, and anxious.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

It is easier to fool someone than to convince them they have been fooled. - Mark Twain.

SOURCES: