Side-By-Side Comparison of Two Ponzi Schemes

BERNIE MADOFF	SOCIAL SECURITY
Takes money from investors with the promise that the money will be invested and made available to them later.	Takes money from wage earners with the promise that the money will be invested in a "Trust Fund" (Lock Box) and made available to them later.
Instead of investing the money Madoff spends it on nice homes in the Hamptons  and yachts.	Instead of depositing money in a Trust Fund the politicians  grab it for their General Fund and use it for general spending and vote buying.
When the time comes to pay the investors back Madoff simply uses funds from newer investors to pay back the earlier ones.	When benefits for older investors become due the politicians pay them with money taken from younger and newer wage earners to pay the older geezers.
When Madoff's scheme is discovered all hell breaks loose.  New investors won't give him any more cash. Scheme collapses.	When Social Security runs out of money the politicians, cut benefits, force the taxpayers to send them more, and keep taking more for themselves.
Bernie Madoff goes to jail.	Politicians remain in  Washington . . . with fat paychecks, expense accounts, and medical and retirement benefits.