Social Security is on the verge of taking care of the baby boomers generation. This means that it will be paying more benefits than taxes it receives. In lay-man’s terms it means it will be spending more money than it is making. I think that you should pay into your own private retirement account for you to reap the benefits in the future. Not for you to pay into a cluster of workers money for current elders to benefit from. You need to take care of your own future and not rely on other people’s responsibility. “…people began to think retirement funding as a right…and so…started saving less” (Klay & Steen). That being said, people of a certain age should be “grandfathered” into this meaning, people of the age of say 40, still get the normal social security retirement money but anyone younger must start abiding this new reform. If you get married, keep paying into your own unless your spouse is not working. If that is the case then pay the same amount BUT put half into your own and half into your spouses. If the other spouse is working however, they should pay into their own account and you into your own. 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 ... ... middle of paper ... ...IC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010685214&mode=view&userGroupName=nysl_ro_phs&jsid=5f52bd05587b2f9d0ba22d7420fc11d4>. "Social Security Should Be Run by the Government" by Institute for America's Future.Capitalism. Noël Merino, Ed. Current Controversies Series. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Institute for America's Future, The Perils of Privatization: Social Security Privatization Cuts Lifetime Benefits; Makes Senior Citizens Vulnerable to Poverty: The Impact in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Institute for America's Future, 2008. Reproduced by permission. .
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.
There are many pros and cons of the privatization of social security. Listed below are each.
Stephen C. Goss has extensively written about the future financial status of the social security program for the Americans and for the whole world at large. He patently articulates that changes enacted in 1983 on Social Security are expected to bring dynamic revolution, such that the benefits and other compensations would be paid in full and on a timely basis until 2037. In 2037, trust fund reserves are expected to be virtually exhausted. After the reserves are used, continuing taxes will be vastly relied upon to pay 76% of the benefits. There will be need and the necessity for the Congress to deliberate on changes concerning the program. It is estimated that reduction of benefits by 13% or a sudden increase in payroll tax to 14.4% from 12.4% or a combination of these two strategies will lead to full payment of scheduled benefits for the next 75 years. In the article, Stephen Goss explicitly analyzes the financial state of the Social Security program. He fundamentally analyzes the aspects of solvency and sustainability. It also evaluates the effect of the social program on the federal budget. It is apparent that social benefits that Americans deserve will continue in the future with certain adjustments to be implemented by the congress and by the legislative bodies.
Each day that goes by there is a politician or journalist arguing about social security, the plans for saving it, and the repercussions of said plans. These topics are constantly flowing through newspapers, internet sites, online journals, and economic journals as well as many other forms of media. The major topic of discussion is the plan put forth by the current administration to reform social security, or more specifically, privatize it. There is no correct argument or correct opinion on how the situation with social security should be handled. Unfortunately, the government has the power in their hands to do with it as they see fit. Presented in this paper are numerous articles stating the condition of social security and specific problems with the way social security stands today.
Michael Jones worked his whole life. At the age of 15 he started as a dishwasher at a restaurant a mile away from his house. He never graduated high school because he had to quit school to help his single mom support a family of six. There were many times in his life where he worked two jobs, but at minimum-wage, if that, 80 hours a week still did not go far. By the age of 20 he was married, and soon began to have a family of his own. Michael is a simple man but a hard workingman. Michael rarely took vacations, worked 60+ hours a week, and raised four daughters of his own. After about 25 years of marriage Michael and his wife divorced. Recently Michael turned 65, and against his desire to keep working, his doctor suggested that he retire, due to suffering from two heart attacks, one when he was 50, the other when he was 62. For 50 years Michael has worked many jobs, unfortunately, due to his limited education, he often worked minimum paying jobs. During the first half of this working life he was supporting his family, and Michael was only able to save for retirement after his children had graduated college. Only his latest employer offered pension plan. Now after working his whole life, Michael is left with $305 a month from his pension, and $742 from Social Security. Social Security has become his major source of sustainment. The Social Security Administration (SSA), has become a lifesaver for Michael and most retirees. This paper will attempt to answer how the Social Security Administration came to be, and what it does for the country and its hard working citizens. It will give a brief overview on the history of the administration; what statutes give the agency its authorities; ...
...erational social insurance program” (Sloan, 2010). To transform it into some sort of massive investment club instantly gives an advantage to higher-income people over lower-income people as “they won’t need immediate retirement income and can wait out markets” (Sloan, 2010) should the market be in one of its periodic downturns. On the other hand, Social Security, structured as it is, “favors lower-income people-as it should” (Sloan, 2010). And that is a sentiment I share.
Social Security first came about in August 14, 1935 signed by President Franklin Roosevelt it was designed to put money into a fund so that elderly people who have been productive citizens could have a form of income to survive and not have to work their entire life or rely on someone to provide for them. Although this was good at first and did not ...
The social security act was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt so that he could put in place provisions in order to help the elderly. The social security act a document that helps impoverished citizens, such as the elderly and physically impaired receive benefits after retirement. Citizens’ in America during the great depression where expected to work weather elderly or physically disabled. These citizens weren’t afforded the financial stability to retire so work was a necessity to acquire money. “Prior to social security, the elderly routinely faced the prospect of poverty upon retirement” (U.S SSA). This effect of the great depression led to a lot death and homes turning into singled parent homes with no income. “The widespread of suffering brought numerous proposals of national old-age insurance system” (U.S SSA). Roosevelt and his administration saw a problem and creating the social security act. The social security act contributed to the elimination of the great depression and the impoverished America.
Meyerson, N. (2010) up some interesting point in research about the down fall of social security
It stated heavier taxes on the wealthy, new way of controlling banks and public utilities, and a huge work relief program for those people who were unemployed. Social Security has been around for so long, but now people under the age of sixty-five think it will go bankrupt before they retire, according to a new CNN/TIME poll, and most of them do not think they will be able to save enough on their own. Only thirty-one percent say that the system is currently in a crisis; majority just feels that there are problems but not a crisis. The way you feel about Social Security is based totally on what age you are. People over fifty seem to think the system is fair while others feel it is not. In the Industrial Age, a Defined Benefit pension plan meant that the company guaranteed you, the worker, and a defined amount of money for as long as you lived. This made people feel secure because these plans assured a stead...
Many Americans depend on Social Security benefits--from retirees, disabled workers, and dependents. Furthermore, numerous retirees have not saved enough money for retirement through other sources, so they count on Social Security as their basic source of income during their later years. Recently, the number of persons receiving Social Security has increased dramatically. This is largely due to the increasing number of persons in the baby boomer generation retiring and also people living many more years past retirement age. This increase in beneficiaries has initiated concerns and questions about the future of Social Security for persons still working. Recent studies have shown that in its current trend, the surplus of funds for Social Security will be depleted in the near future as the increase of payments will begin to exhaust the fund’s resources. To that end, reform of some kind is needed to help sustain this benefit for future generations to come (Social Security Administration, 2014).
Jimmy Carter said any system of economics is bankrupt if it sees either value or virtue in unemployment. The Social Security Act of 1935, also known as the "Old-age program", is the largest social program in the United States to date. The main function of this program is to compensate workers and their family members who are retired or disabled. The Social Security act came at a time of great hardship and uncertainty by the American people. With the Old-age program it was possible for a retired person to have a form of security knowing that they will have a supplemental income which would allow them to live and in return allow the younger generation to work.
Social Security for the first time provided Americans with unemployment, disability and pensions for old age, which wasn’t there before and thanks to The Great Depression helps out all Americans that need economic relief while taking advantage of Social Security has arguably kept America out of economic chaos (“What is Social Security”?). The Great Depression led us to have a better economic system and changed economic thinking. Laws were passed in order to prevent another depression from happening. Although many years have passed since the Great Depression, things that were seen back then are still being seen today in 2014. High unemployment rates and low income among families forced to need the help of welfare are seen today as they were seen during the time of the Great Depression.
Social Security began during the first term of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's, as a gauge to apply "social insurance" during the 1930’s Great Depression, when poverty rates of senior citizens exceeded that of 50 percent. The Act was an effort to constraint unexpected and unsuspecting danger in the present life: including old age, disability, poverty, unemployment, and the burden of widowers with and lacking children. President Roosevelt’s opponents however acknowledged that the Act was that of socialism.
Social Security was founded on the idea that those who work extensively and hard should not become impoverished due to retirement or disability, nor should their families suffer in the event of early death. As the nation’s income protection program, Social Security supports families, not just individuals. Children, youth, and grandfamilies (grandparents and other relatives raising children) increasingly rely on Social Security as a safeguard against poverty, however their voices are often overlooked. More than 6.5 million children in the United States receive part of their family income from Social Security. One thirds of the 50 million people who receive Social Security benefits today is younger than age 65. If Social Security didn’t exist, the older generations would stay in their positions even longer not allowing for the younger generations to take their places in the workforce.