The Social Security system is quite a bit more than just a retirement supplement; don't forget the disability and other insurance aspects of the program. In any case, the partial suspension (holiday) on the "payroll tax", affects more than Social Security. The payroll tax also encompasses the financing for Medicare. I haven't actually researched it, but apparently the holiday was only a partial holiday, because it only cut the "contribution" by about a third. The last time I looked, the payroll tax amounted to about 6.75%, or something close to that for employees (employers pay a matching amount).
If the reporting is correct, the tax was lowered to somewhere around 4 point something percent at the beginning of this year. That rate would be continued for a couple of months under the present proposal.
The Social Security system when set up, was never designed to operate from a growing pool of funds; it was pay as you go. However, during the Reagan administration, it was recognized that the baby-boomers would put a whole new strain on the system, so Congress raised the payroll tax to create a surplus. There was no practical, nor workable means of squirrelling away the enormous pool of funds that would be created, so the excess was loaned to the general fund. That would have all been fine and good if the excess funds would have been invested in revenue producing government projects such as hydroelectric dams, water supply projects etc. Instead, the money was spent on anything and everything and there's nothing to show for it but IOU's.
Don't get the impression that I am any kind of advocate for the system--I'm not, but we are way too far down the road to scrap it and start all over. Should people be allowed to opt out of the system? Absolutely--if they sign an agreement that the government would be totally and completely absolved of any and all responsibilities that might result from future difficulties. We all know that that would never happen. If nothing else, recent history of the private investment system is every bit as nebulous as government plans.