For nearly a century, Americans have been told Social Security is their safety net, a promise that if you work hard, pay in, and stay loyal, you’ll be taken care of in the end. But that promise was never real. It was a political invention built to fund the government, not protect the worker.

In this episode of Beyond the Workforce, David Thomas Graves exposes how Social Security was born out of desperation during the Great Depression — not as a retirement plan, but as a cleverly disguised tax pipeline. He breaks down how the system was designed to recycle your money into government spending, how inflation and demographics have gutted its foundation, and why your “benefits” are paid in devalued dollars.

From shrinking worker-to-retiree ratios to the myth of the trust fund, this episode reveals the uncomfortable truth: Social Security isn’t saving you, it’s spending you.

This is the great American illusion, and it’s time to see it for what it really is.

Thanks for listening to Beyond the Workforce. If this episode hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear the truth behind the headlines. And don’t forget, you can check out all the Beyond the Workforce articles at www.beyondtheworkforce.com

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For over a century, the Federal Reserve has sold Americans the story of control, that it can fine-tune the economy with the pull of a lever. Raise rates, lower rates, pump liquidity, pull it back. Stability on command. But the truth is harder: the brakes don’t work anymore.

In this episode of Beyond the Workforce, David Graves unpacks the illusion of control and explains how fiscal dominance has trapped the Fed in the very machine it built. We break down what “liquidity” really means, why debt has become the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, and how every attempt to pull money out risks breaking the system.

From wages that lag behind prices, to savings that erode, to housing and retirement turned into speculative assets, workers pay the bill for a system addicted to debt. And with the dollar’s global dominance showing cracks, the costs are only getting heavier.

This is the machine’s last stand. The question isn’t whether it fails, it’s how long the illusion can last before workers demand something real.

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Thanks for listening to Beyond the Workforce. If this episode hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear the truth behind the headlines. And don’t forget, you can check out all the Beyond the Workforce articles at www.beyondtheworkforce.com

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Beyond the Workforce isn’t just another podcast about labor, it’s a declaration. Hosted by David Thomas Graves, this show calls out the truth about a rigged economy, corporate manipulation, and union leaders who’ve gotten too comfortable while their members lose everything.

We dig into the issues no one else wants to touch: Social Security as a government-run Ponzi scheme, the collapse of the American film industry, the death of the 60/40 retirement portfolio, and why unions are bleeding out under outdated laws. We strip away the slogans and the culture war noise to reveal the real fight: workers versus the system built to drain them.

This is where broken systems get torn down, unapologetically. This is where something better gets built, intentionally. No polish. No PR. Just purpose.

If you’re ready to flip the table instead of fighting for a seat at it, this podcast is for you.

Thanks for listening to Beyond the Workforce. If this episode hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear the truth behind the headlines. And don’t forget, you can check out all the Beyond the Workforce articles at www.beyondtheworkforce.com

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