The National Issues Forums Institute

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

Absent any legislative action, the combined trust funds will be exhausted by 2033, with the disability trust fund running out as early as 2016. Social Security’s growing cash-flow deficits and eventual trust-fund exhaustion are putting increasing strain on the federal budget and threatening benefits for especially vulnerable beneficiaries (Boccia, Romina).

Many people have many different views about the federal government and its role in our economy. Some people feel that the government should have very little control over the state, while some believe the federal government is fine and acts as a security blanket. Americans love the idea of knowing they are “safe;” safe physically, mentally, and financially. A man named Robert Kiyosaki once said, “When President George W. Bush attempted to reform Social Security, that proposal was more unpopular with Americans than the Iraq War. People love their entitlements.” No matter what a person’s views are about the role of the federal government, a numerous amount of people will still be interested in collecting Social Security when they reach the age of retirement. There is much controversy about this act, and many times people have tried to reform it but it somehow always fell short.

Our nation ensures social welfare through Social Security. However, the United States cannot ensure the welfare of its own welfare system. To save Social Security, Americans in general do not favor an increase in the payroll tax, a cut in benefits or an increase in the retirement age. Furthermore, Americans are relying upon Social Security as their sole source of income at increasingly alarming rates. Social Security is intended to supplement retiree income, not account for 100% of it. Through elimination of the potential options, that leaves one necessary action: invest the Social Security trust fund in the stock market.

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

Current problems with the Social Security fund exist, and are the reasons why Social Security is in the need of reform. According to Forbes Magazine, the fund is expected to run out by 2033 (Teal 2013). At this point, money will still be coming in, but will not pay out the full benefits to recipients. The worker to retiree ratio is continuously declining, being approximately three workers to every

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.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935. The main intentions of this act were to provide benefits for the elderly population that was retired and not able to work. This act helped to protect the elderly against poverty if they were not able to save for retirement during their working years. At the time of the signing, only retired people of 65 years or older were eligible for these benefits. This act also included unemployment insurance, old age assistance, aid to dependent children, and grants to states to provide various forms of medical care. Things such as disability coverage and medical benefits would come later. Today we have many issues with our social security program, largely to

     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

Social Security is in need of reform as the Social Security Trust Fund is predicted to deplete between 2033 and 2037. Some economists and politicians suggest that taking the social insurance program to the free-market is the answer. What they mean is to privatize the program, where it would be mandatory for one to put funds in a private retirement investment account. Social Security began to run a deficit in 2010, meaning that the amount of money collected from taxes was not enough to cover the cost of the program. Privatizing Social Security has its advantages and disadvantages according to empirical findings and theoretical simulations. I will summarize what economists have collected from Chile and Mexico, these are just a few countries

The age group that Social Security was intended for is becoming very large. The increase in the cost of living and the large groups of eligible recipients has caused doubt with many of the younger citizens. A study conducted in 1994 showed that Americans born after 1964 are more likely to believe in the existents of UFO’s than believe that Social Security will be availible when they are eligible for it.(Shlaes 1)      Welfare is a common

In recent years there has been lots of concerns with the current Social Security system because there has been large amounts of growth in retirement spending. Two of the largest reasons for this is the baby boomer generation has started to transition from the workplace into retirement in the past few years.

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