Social Security Milton Friedman Summary

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The author, Milton Friedman, covers many economic and social issues in this article and offers possible solutions. Five of the issues he addresses are Social security, wage and price controls, the Federal Reserve, consumer protection programs, and welfare programs. The author doesn't have a very good opinion of Social Security, he thinks that it is a program that needs to be gotten rid of quickly. He argues that all it is is a regressive payroll tax that really only the rich benefit from. The poor feel the impact of the tax the most and he makes the point that what you pay in and what you get at retirement are not related. The people who retired right after Social Security was first put into place got a ton of benefits for only a few …show more content…

The programs operate under the assumption that if the government didn't intervene, consumers would be taken advantage of by producers. He points out that if a consumer wasn't satisfied with the product, they would simply go somewhere else, and the producer would be forced to improve their product in order to stay in business. In cases of injury caused, the consumer would simply sue the seller; instead of the current system where you could either sue the seller or the government agency in charge of regulating that product. Also, these agencies often end up working more in favor of the industry than the consumer. Initially they may benefit the consumer, but that doesn't last long. Friedman states that in the creation of welfare programs, a demand has been created for poor people. The benefits they get under welfare programs are often better than their current life, so there is no incentive for them to try and get out of poverty. Welfare programs have also in general decreased the sense of obligation the public has to the poor and elderly. Children don't worry about their elderly parents anymore because Social Security has them covered. The public doesn't worry about the poor as much because the government's welfare programs will take care of

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