[revots33]

I was thinking recently about social security/medicaid/medicare. A lot of my paycheck goes to these programs, and they are constantly being touted in the news as in "crisis". Meanwhile, some of my FICA withholdings are going to rich retirees on some golf course community somewhere. Plus I know several rich seniors who simply paid a lawyer to hide their assets so they could qualify for free health care under Medicare. So, instead of trying to fix the supposed crisis, would it be better/more efficient to just eliminate these programs entirely and stop taking the money from our paychecks?

I think my gut reaction is yes, I'd rather have that money and be responsible for my own retirement and health care when I'm older. But how would this impact those who really need the safety net provided by these programs?

Isn't there some other option, that would basically eliminate social security as we know it, but still provide for those who really need it to live on or get medical care? And why wouldn't something like this be a popular platform for a politician? I can't imagine people being against getting all that FICA money every week in their paychecks.