Social Security Reform

Social Security has been a very beneficial government program for elderly people, and those whom they support, when being an active member in the workforce is no longer an option for reasons such as old age, disability, or death. Destruction of the program, or worse, lack of the aid, would be catastrophic. Without it, it could leave many senior citizens that can no longer

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

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.

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

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

Many pros and cons arise with this option of Social Security reform. With other options the government takes the risk, but with privatization it is a personal risk. When account holders reach retirement they are able to withdraw from the account and use the money as they see fit. Government does not control the amount or what the account holders use the money for, leaving recipients with the choice to spend as much of the money as they wish and as quickly as they want. With no control over the usage of savings, this defeats the purpose of Social Security as a “safety net”. The biggest downfall to this reform is the transition period. Not only would the transition be a high cost, but those that are closest to retirement could be left with smaller savings in their private account. If young workers create private accounts then they are not supporting current retirees, and they are not receiving what they should be (Mitchell 2011). Another concern is that not all recipients will end up with a fair amount of earnings in their account. Such

Our Social Security program mainly help out with older citizens and retirement but Social Security is more than just a retirement plan. The program helps families where a parent die and there is no type of income, a worker who has been disabled, and a dependent parent. If there were some type of circumstances in one home or life, they would be able to receive Social Security at any age. There is no doubt in my mind that we should save this program, no matter the cost, it helps out so many people in ways that we may not know of. Take some time and think about the world if this program had never been created and image how many people would be in poverty, unemployed, and old people who are not being able to pay for medicines or supply that they need. We should not change anything in the Social Security program until an crisis acquire, and when that day comes we will already know what to do to improve it by changing certain things in the

Debates over Social Security have been ongoing since its inception in 1935 until today. The trend seems to be toward an increasing percentage of the American public, across party and demographic lines, in favor of strengthening Social Security funding, and a willingness to pay more to preserve and even improve benefits. However, the trend towards privatization of Social Security is also on the rise. What is not clear is whether Americans favor privatization because of fears that the Social Security Trust Fund is living on borrowed time.

Additionally, its privatization will leave its recipients better off. In today's world retirement is an enormous milestone in a worker's life and having enough money is an important determinant of when that happens. Social Security is a large contributor in allowing Americans to be able to retire. With about the privatization of Social Security, the ability for any worker to retire at a reasonable age will become much more difficult. Is it right for the elderly to be forced to work longer than they

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

If a Social Security Act were being built today, I think it would look much different from the version that was created in 1935. There are many factors that have changed dramatically, and while there have been updates along the way in an attempt to address them, the program has still lagged behind to cause some to question its effectiveness and longevity. The very idea that government would be intervening in something that has such a large economic impact on the economy is frightening, but I do not feel we can rely on a system without Social Security. Today people live longer, has less saving, and right or wrong, have a higher expectation of living than people did decades ago. We live in a civilized country that contributes to helping others throughout the world, would we turn on back on our elderly or hope that someone else will find a solution? The idea of keeping government out and allowing a private solution sounds great, but ultimately I feel the problem will shift onto the citizens.

The problem with Social Security trust fund is that at the present time there is more credit in the trust fund than is required for payment of Social Security benefits. “By 2027 revenue coming into the trust fund will fall below the level of being paid out, and by 2040 the trust fund will be depleted (Quadagno, 2014).”Meaning there will be not enough money from payroll taxes to pay all the benefits that are promised to citizens. This puts everyone who is going to enter retirement in jeopardy. Even though everyone has a right to deserve benefits in retirement I feel more people should take control over their own funds.

     There is much-heated debate on the issues of Social Security today. The Social Security system is the largest government program of income distribution in the United States. People are concerned that they won't see a dime of what they worked so hard to contribute into the Social Security system for so many years. Social Security provides benefits to about forty-three million Americans. Not only to retired workers, but also to their spouses and dependents of the workers who die prematurely. It also provides benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. Social Security appears to most people like a simple retirement saving’s account. After all, you generally

To understand what the retirement earning test is and how it works, you must first understand how social security works. Social security in the United States of America is a program run by the government that provides income to millions of Americans who cannot work due to retirement, disability, or death (nasi.org). However the true function of Social Security is to provide supplemental income to people after retirement. It roughly replaces 40% of average worker’s income after retirement, requiring many social security receivers to continue working after their normal retirement age. How it works essentially is workers’ pay part of their income into a pool, that immediately gets disbursed to citizens getting benefits right now. They sacrifice a slice of their paycheck in the present, to be able to claim benefits when they go into retirement. The social security system has been changed constantly over the years. One thing that has not changed over the years, is the ability to claim benefits early.

The Social Security System is in need of a new reform; our current system was not designed for the age stratification we have at this time. The U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy states, “The original Social Security Act, signed into law on August 14, 1935, grew out of the work of the Committee on Economic Security, a cabinet-level group appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just one year earlier. The Act created several programs that, even today, form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs.” Social Security was modeled to aid the elderly citizens, however during the