Responsibility Taken by the Federal Government: Social Security Throughout the 20th century governmental responsibility has made remarkable progress. One major milestone of the widening of the responsibility of the federal government was it’s making an obligation to care for the elderly and retired in the form of social security. In 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted by the federal government to provide financial security to the elderly, retired citizens in America. Although the federal government first took on this responsibility in 1935, it is still affecting our lives today. However, social security would not have advanced this far without many organizations and individual reformers to begin and improve social security throughout history. In America’s early days before the kickoff of industry, there was little need for retirement savings for a few key reasons. First of all, people were dying at a much earlier age; most people didn’t live past 38, whereas in 1900, 60 years of age was common for about 40 percent of the population and 15 percent experienced 80 years of life. Another reason for the irrelevance of social security in the 19th century and earlier was that people were usually living rurally on farms with extended families to take care of them. Furthermore, the Civil War also didn’t allow the government much economic room to consider providing a service such as social security. However, after the Civil War, pensions were a form of social security for civil war veterans that carried into their retirement. Unfortunately these pensions provided support for only a very small portion of the population; not even one percent of Americans received these pensions. Despite a much lower need for social security in the 18th ... ... middle of paper ... ...lash=true>. "Legislative History." Social Security 1939 Amendments. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. "New Deal Network Search Results." New Deal Network Search Results. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. "Social Security." - Archive Collection. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. . "Social Security Act of 1935." Social Security Act of 1935. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Dec. 2013. . "Social Security." History. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. Staff, FindingDulcinea. "On This Day: Social Security Act Signed Into Law." FindingDulcinea. N.p., 14 Aug. 2011. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. . "Were There No Old People In 1900?" Scattered Thoughts from a Scattered Mind. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014.
The push for Congress to pass legislation protecting the rights of employees and their retirement was inevitable. Retirement plans are extremely important for all working individuals. Having funds to keep or exceed ones current standard of living and to enjoy one’s life beyond expectations after retire...
is that in the 1800's the average age a person lived up to was 30. In
There are millions of Americans affected by social security. These Americans rely on social security to provide them with financial security. Recently President Bush agreed to proposing a method of privatizing the social security program so that in the future the vast reserves of the social security system would not run out nearly as fast. With the always increasing rise in inflation, and the baby boomer generation reaching ages of retirement fairly soon, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with correctly and rapidly. The way the president is handling the situation is definitely the right way to do it. There are many things and ways in which to do it wrong, but the president seems to be pointing the plans of social security in the right direction. The president’s plans of reforming social security are right because the privatization is the best way to go, changing the rules for those who would apply for it increases the savings and makes the money go farther, and working with the distribution of different tax percentages would really make the money go a lot farther.
The Social Security Act was enacted in 1935, and since then it has undergone numerous revisions and amendments. Today the act covers a wide range of benefit programs, including Medicare, unemployment compensation, and Supplemental Security Income. The major portion for which the Social Security Act has become known, however, is the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, or OASDI. While today the OASDI program is most frequently referred to as “Social Security,” it is only a thread in what has been called the “social safety net.” Therefore, throughout this paper, it should be understood that Social Security will be the term used to refer to all its encompassed programs as a group, as a matter of convenience.
Social Security is a system that was set up in 1935 after the Great depression to help people get through tough times. "Social Security is now used by nearly 44 million Americans"(policy.com). Only people who payed into social security are eligible to collect when they retire. Many people think that they receive the money they pay in but that is not total true. The money that you pay in is used for the people that are receiving it now. "In 1950 there were 16 workers for every beneficiary; today there are only three workers per beneficiary"(policy.com). There is more money going into social security then coming out now. The extra money goes into a trust to be used when it is needed. By the year 2032 those numbers are going to drop. By this time most baby boomers will be retired and collecting social security. This will put a big strain on the funds. There will be more money going out then coming in. And it will not take long to use all the money that is in the trust. By the year 2034 they will only be able to pay 75 percent of the beneficiaries. "The projected average monthly Social Security benefit in 2032 of about 1,100 (in 1998 dollars) would fall to about $800, and would drop further in later years. Average benefits for low-wage earners would drop from $670 to $480"(www.ssab). Theses cut would effect the people just starting to receive benefits and those who are already receiving benefits. And with each year these benefits will decrease. As these benefits continue to decrease "the percentage of aged people living in poverty would rise"(www.ssab).Most people believe this is happening because of the baby boomers generation. There will be more people taking from social security then giving in. By the time my generation is eliable to receive social security there may not be any money to give.
can expect to live a much longer life then that of their grandparents. In 1900
Retirees over the age of sixty two in the United States are estimated by an independent financial survey to be sitting on over one trillion dollars in total assets. That money mostly lies in financial institutions gathering interest while needy family members suffer impatiently waiting for the day when it will be their inheritance. But not all seniors are that callous, they give away their money to loved ones before they die. There is no better way for the elderly to show that they care. Those that do can enjoy the pleasure of watching their money being spent. It is a joy that they would never experience if they waited until their death.
The Social Security Act was passed by President FDR as one of his programs to fight the Great Depression. The Social Security Act was enacted August 14, 1935 (Social Security Act). The current problem is the fear of what will become of Social Security as the baby boomers generation begins to retire. As millions of baby boomers approach retirement, the program's annual cash surplus will shrink and then disappear. Then, Social Security will not be able to pay full benefits from its payroll and other tax revenues (Social Security Reform Center – Problem). This is causing the U.S. government to think about reform and changes for the ...
22. Kennith Davis, "The Birth of Social Security," in Visions of America's Past, ed. William Bryans et al. (Plymouth: Hayden-McNeil Publishing, 2011), 327.
Wheeler, Peter. "Social Security Programs in the United States." Programs in the United States. Social Security Administration, 1 July 1997. Web. 4 May 2014.
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
In today’s society, America is represented by the young, the cool, and most importantly, the active. In past generations, the elderly were looked upon in admiration for their accomplishments in life. Now, they are tossed aside, due to their inability to work in this day and age. In a summary of the fiction piece, Time Machine, by H. G. Wells, there is tell how “...in the land of everlasting youth, the problem of ageing-if it is a problem- has been apparently resolved. A genre of utopian and dystopian writers raise often unanswered questions about the place of the elderly in future society. In the past, as in the present, that experience has often become grim. This book is about, bluntly, the killing of old people...” Although the death has not occurred yet in the modern age, the lack of respect has gone up substantially. This is shown in one text in particular. In the nonfiction, A Celebration of Grandfathers, by Rudolfo A. Anaya, his grandfather’s quotes give insights on the signs of respect, hard work, and wisdom.
The government program plan for social security was developed in the year 1935. It is one of the world’s largest government programs which has been paying out billions of dollars every year. But in the present era it has been facing some of the difficulties due to high taxation and unemployment. The social security system designed in 1935 does not match the 21st century. In the year 1935 it was basically created for women who wouldn’t work outside but in the present generation about 75% of the women are independent. If we look at the official records about 43 million people are getting the benefits of the social security program and many more number of people are earing to their retirement, the program will not change for the people born before
Funding for social security becomes an important issue because the life expectancy has increased drastically since the initiation of social security. Individuals are able to retire at age sixty-five, the same age they begin receiving social security checks to provide them with the money needed to survive. The retirement age is now an issue because the program designed the age of retirement over twenty years ago which is significant because it is not designed for people to live much past eighty. Social security’s greatest obstacle is the shift in life expectancy because “most babies born in 1900 did not live past age 50, life expectancy at birth now exceeds 83 years” it is so difficult to accommodate and raise enough funds for individuals to
As the saying goes, saving money for rainy days, in other word preserve the summer harvest so there is food to eat in the long winter months. There is something naturally human about our need for security to have something on hand just in case. In 1935 the social security act was born from just such a need, when American was in crisis, so now with the current projections pointing to the crisis in social security, experts believe that by 2037, the social security trust fund will be exhausted.