“In a broad sense, the social welfare economies of all the advanced Western nations are nothing more than Ponzi schemes. Typical is the Social Security system of the United States of America. It survives only as long as there are enough new contributors to cover the promises made to the old ones. As in any Ponzi scheme, the first ones into the system do very well. The very first beneficiaries put in little and got a lot out — depending on how long they lived. But as time goes by, the deal goes bad. Middle-aged people today would be better off with a private pension system … and the young are unlikely to see any benefits at all. John Law never lived to see America’s system of public finance at work. Nor did Charles Ponzi. But even without a paternity test, each would have recognized it as his own. Bernie Madoff is still alive as of this writing. He is the world’s reigning champion…title holder in the Ponzi league. Yet, compared to America’s system of public finance, his scheme was penny ante … chickenfeed.” (01/14/09)