Primary characteristics of a Ponzi scheme are that they are a system in which people place their money, and as more people place their money into the system, the value of that investment is supposed to provide a reasonable return. So long as more people are entering the system than leaving by cashing out, all is well, but once you have fewer people enrolling into the system, it will start to collapse (like Social Security seems to be in danger of doing). The major difference between Social Security and most Ponzi schemes is that I don’t think it promises massive returns on investment like most Ponzi schemes do, but it otherwise functions pretty similarly.
Primary characteristics of a Ponzi scheme are that they are a system in which people place their money, and as more people place their money into the system, the value of that investment is supposed to provide a reasonable return. So long as more people are entering the system than leaving by cashing out, all is well, but once you have fewer people enrolling into the system, it will start to collapse (like Social Security seems to be in danger of doing). The major difference between Social Security and most Ponzi schemes is that I don’t think it promises massive returns on investment like most Ponzi schemes do, but it otherwise functions pretty similarly.