This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, June 15, 2017.

I'm Caleb Brown.

Young people, for the most part, don't think Social Security will be around for them,

but recent data shows that too many young people do believe

that the system will not only be around but will provide for the bulk of their

retirement. Mike Riggs a reporter at Reason says Liberty-minded young people should especially walk the walk

on financial independence.

According to Gallup, the polling company, 25% of young adults anticipate paying for retirement with their social security benefits.

This is the highest number of young people who have believed that social security will be a primary source of income and retirement

since Gallup began collecting data on this question.

And so, and historically we've understood that even the Social Security Administration itself has argued, well,

what Social Security was a part, a small part of your retirement, your own savings and whatever retirement you receive from your company

is going to be the primary sources of your retirement.

Yeah, it's, we've always kind of talked about it as a supplement.

I mean, even if you go back several decades to the introduction of Social Security, it's this supplement for elderly people who are living

with their families.

There are lots of Americans who try to use Social Security benefits as a way to pay most of their bills

and sustain the bulk of their lifestyle who live alone and it's it doesn't work

for them it doesn't work very well at all I mean it, it's less than $2,000 a month at the high end.

And so if you have a mortgage or you owe money on a car

or you have any other sort of personal debt or household debt. Social security is not a way to live.

Right.

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