I believe the United States has an economic dilemma when it comes to social security and Medicare. As our textbook states, social security is drastically underfunded. It also says that Medicare is underfunded as well. I have listened to people who talk about how there will not be enough money in social security after the millennial generation. If this is true, then my generation and other generations after me will be in a terrible situation when they can retire. Medicare, a government, insured health insurance program, is also a matter of concern. Since the Medicare fund is underfunded at a high level, people who would need the help of their Medicare plan could potentially backfire. If the funding for Medicare does not reach a level where you would not have to worry about the quality of the care, then potential health risks could become much worse without adequate resources used to treat and prevent them. I believe we need government policies that will guarantee that the funds for social security and Medicare will be filled each year. The government’s budget should cut unnecessary spending on things we can survive without, and pump more money into social security and Medicare. Our retirees depend on their social …show more content…
I agree that a solution to fix the issue of the national debt is to increase taxes by fifty-seven percent or cut all government spending by thirty-seven percent. Although I agree with it, I think there maybe a way to improve it without making things awkward. Increasing the tax percentage could fix our problem, I just wonder how the younger generations will handle this considering the financial situation they are dealing with now with high student debt and other economic factors. Cutting government spending is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if you cut spending on vital programs like Medicare, the quality of products from the programs may not help us the way they were meant to
In “The Social Security Problem”, Max Moore discusses the fearful reality of Social Security running out of funds. He states that the U.S. Department of the Treasury predicts that Social Security funds will run out by 2041 and action must be taken in order to prevent this (134). In his essay, he explains how the depletion of Social Security funds are a result from a decreasing retirement age, decreasing fertility rate, and shrinking work force. These things contribute to an increased population relying on Social Security, an increased population of the elderly, and a decreased ratio of workers paying for those beneficiaries (135). Moore explains the proposal of George W. Bush to make Social Security partially privatized; allowing young workers to invest their retirement savings into their own account. This would result in people putting their retirement on the line in
In the United States of America, there exists a two-party system comprised of the U.S. Democratic Party and the U.S. Republican Party. Although these two parties have become somewhat neutral on many issues of national policy, each party has a unique perspective of how the ever-looming Social Security problem should be alleviated. First, the U.S. Democratic Party believes that in order to fix the Social Security problem, pension plans must be reformed and savings incentives must be expanded nationwide. Also, the U.S. Democratic Party has persistently argued against the recent idea of privatizing Social Security. On the other hand, the U.S. Republican Party believes the Social Security system is in need of much more drastic change. According to statistics provided by the official website of the Republican National Committee, "Under the current system, today's 30-year-old worker will face a 26% benefit cut when he or she reaches normal retirement age." Also according to the RNC website, "By 2041, when workers in their mid-20s begin to retire, the system will be bankrupt - unless we act now to save it." In order to fix this troubled system, the U.S. Republican Party believes that the only answer is privatization.
The Medicare program is being perceived that it will go bankrupt in about 10 years unless there is major reform. There are six recommendations that should be reformed for the protection of the program for future generations. The program must protect retirees from an economic healthcare disaster. The cost of the program must be shared and this will motivate benefactors to reduce cost by adding accountability to the program. Reducing Medicare expenditures will have a much larger impact than increasing taxes. Calculating the retirement age in correlation to life
For many years the social security program has been operating successfully. In recent times however, it is becoming apparent to some that social security is in need of reform. Their argument is that with the amount of people getting older in the next couple of decades, there will not be enough money left in the social security reserves to pay for everyone who needs it. That is why the idea of separating social security up into private funds has been brought to the attention of the American citizens. This idea of reform has been around for quite a long time; however it has been pushed on by pro reform supporters more in recent times because they think it is necessary for the
It’s a matter of either losing all that you have worked for and live in poverty when retired or allowing your hard earned dollars to grow and have a secure comfortable retirement. I believe that Social Security is a doomed Government Program and that Privatization of Social Security would allow for a more secure retirement plan for all Americans. Social Security was first created to help aging Americans in their senior years so they would not end up in poverty. Social Security was signed in as law on August 14, 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was fully operating by 1940 (SSA). Originally a retirement program, but Social Security now includes survivor benefits, disability benefits and Medicare and all together is the largest
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
It’s a matter of either losing all that you have worked for and live in poverty when retired or allowing your hard earned dollars to grow and have a secure comfortable retirement. I believe that Social Security is a doomed Government Program and that Privatization of Social Security would allow for a more secure retirement plan for all Americans. Social Security was first created to help aging Americans in their senior years so they would not end up in poverty. Social Security was signed in as law on August 14, 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was fully operating by 1940. Originally a retirement program, but Social Security now includes survivor benefits, disability benefits and Medicare and all together is the largest
In 2009 there were 50.7 million people, 16.7% of the population, without health insurance. Americans all over the country are working and yet they still can’t afford to pay the high cost of health insurance for themselves and their families. Under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which was signed by Obama on March 23, 2010, thirty two million Americans who were previously not eligible for Medicaid may now have the opportunity to be covered. If this act is passed in North Carolina then it will be expanded to cover nearly all of the 1.5 million North Carolinians who are without health insurance. If more Americans are covered under the Medicaid that they need then
Medicare and Medicaid are programs that have been developed to assist Americans in attainment of quality health care. Both programs were established in 1965 and are federally supported to provide health care coverage to vulnerable populations such as the elderly, the disabled, and people with low incomes. Both Medicare and Medicaid are federally mandated and determine coverage under each program; both are run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency ("What is Medicare? What is Medicaid?” 2008).
The Social Security Act of 1935, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, created a program that included social insurance programs, as well as public assistance. Both programs came about due to the depression and were created as part of the New Deal to benefit the citizens who needed assistance. While both programs were created to assist the public, each program had different eligibility requirements and accomplished different tasks.
In present times, people with high incomes that’s above the 100 percent poverty level is eligible for premium subsidies to purchase private plans in the health care market. Individuals that are below the 100 percent of poverty in states that don’t wish to expand Medicaid; do not have access either to subsidized private coverage or Medicaid (Garber & Collins, 2014). Originally, the law require that all states expand Medicaid eligibility, to enable those people living with income that is increasing to 138 percent of the poverty level. These factors are equivalent to $15,856 for each individual and $32,499 for a family living in a single dwelling (Garber & Collins, 2014). In 2012, the Supreme Court made these regulations optional for ruling.
The U.S. health care system is a scrutinized issue that affects everyone: young, old, rich, and poor. The health care system is comprised of three major components. Since 1973, most Americans have turned to managed-care programs, known as HMOs. The second type of health care offered to Americans is Medicare, health care for the elderly. The third type of health care is Medicaid, a health care program for the poor.
Medicare and Medicaid are two of the United States largest broken systems, which must sustain themselves in order to provide care to their beneficiaries. Both Medicare and Medicaid are funding by a joint effort between the federal government and the local state government. If and when these governments choose to cut funding or reduce spending, Medicare and Medicaid take the biggest hit. Most people see these two benefits as one in the same, two benefits the government takes out of their pay check to help fund health care. While the government does deduct a sum from paychecks everywhere, Medicare and Medicaid are very two very different programs.
Social Security is a public program designed to provide income and services to individuals in the event of retirement, sickness, disability, death, or unemployment. In the United States, the word social security refers to the programs established in 1935 under the Social Security Act. Societies throughout history have devised ways to support people who cannot support themselves. In 1937 the government began issuing Social Security identification cards to all citizens. Each card had a unique number that the government used to keep track of a person’s earnings and the taxes collected from those earnings that went to finance Social Security benefits. The Social Security Act is an act in which
“Medicare-for-all” is piece of legislation proposed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders that advocates for a single-payer healthcare system and universal coverage for all in the United States (Keith & Jost, 2017). The bill details a national health insurance plan, funded by a government trust, that would cover all services from hospital stays to primary care visits, thus eliminating high out-of-pocket costs, copayments, and deductibles. Comprehensive coverage under Medicare-for-all would also include treatment for substance abuse, mental health counseling and resources, reproductive and maternity services, and even abortion (Keith & Jost, 2017).