That said, I think the real problem here was undercapitalization. It seems akin to throwing a party at your home that has a structural addition not up to code, and then when it collapses under the weight, saying it was just bad luck.
No, they're not. The definition of "Ponzi scheme" is not "something financial I think is a scam" as most people use it. It's a very specific type of financial fraud.
"Everything is a Ponzi" is a lazy analysis only made possible by having a lazy definition of what a Ponzi scheme is
I think the point is that there are more structures out there like this than we think. Social Security for example. Just do a web search and you'll see it's a rather mainstream question. Also there are so many unfunded public pensions that could meet the definition.
Perhaps the difference is transparency. We know these public programs are currently in bad shape, but private schemes are completely opaque until they collapse.
Social Security isn't a Ponzi scheme. It's not hiding how it's funded, has accurate transparent accounting, and isn't misleading anyone about it. It's more like insurance.
It's more of a pump and dump scheme where people extol made up virtues to get suckers to put money in, and as demonstrated for well over a decade now, it's a complete financial crapstorm filled with theft, criminal activity, and people stealing incredible sums of money from the unsuspecting.
But sure, it's not a Ponzi scheme. It just makes them easier to do to people.
That said, I think the real problem here was undercapitalization. It seems akin to throwing a party at your home that has a structural addition not up to code, and then when it collapses under the weight, saying it was just bad luck.