Social security. As Todd says, there is a way it is supposed to work, unfortunately it doesn't. I remember in High School (80's) listening to someone explain how there would not be enough workers in the future to continue paying in to fund our social security. For that reason we were going to be paying extra into a fund to have enough. The gov't then raided this fund and used it for current funding and put back IOU's. I remember asking, "So, how is this new generation going to be able to pay enough in taxes to repay the fund if they won't have enough to pay for social security." Answer is, they can't. We were screwed agian by our parents as they found out a way to switch their burden to us. Add in all the unfunded retirements and other entitlements, along with the cost of cleaning the enviroment and paying for the newly required technologies and more expensive energy, and I think we are all in trouble.