Essay on public finance and policy solution gruber

provide more money to the government with the increased tax revenue from all of the new

However, there are also some drawbacks associated with raising taxes. Tax is a form of leakage from the circular flow of income leading to negative multiplier effect. If the government increases income tax rates, it might create disincentives to work. It is because when income tax increases, the opportunity cost for leisure time decreases; and people will have to work longer

When the average MPC out of Social Security increases, the larger impact on the economy it will have due to that income being circulated through the economy. Typically, those who have lower-income will be more likely to spend more of their income than higher-income households. Also, we see that generally those who receive Social Security to in fact have a lower income, and that money is a large portion of that income. This will then lead them to have a higher than average MPC. These lower-income households will likely spend the income from Social Security on the daily necessities, which impacts a different segment of the economy rather than if it was spent on luxury or travel. Age is also a factor in Social Security as well as how it affects an individual’s MPC. Those who are older and have reached the point in time where they more likely to spend their assets rather than save, usually have a higher MPC than the public. This is where we can see that altering MPCs for the age of Social Security beneficiaries, as well as their income, would have an increased effect on the economy regarding Social Security payouts (Koenig, G. AARP., & Myles, A. Mississippi State University, 2013)

In general, countries experiencing high fertility and rapid population growth, have a “young” population structure and the important policy considerations are if there are enough schools and, sufficient jobs and housing to accommodate this population. Countries with “old” population structures face the problems of structuring and developing retirement and health systems to serve this older population and also they have a considerable reduction the number of the working force. The decline of the work force is one of the most dramatic economic tendencies of the past four decades in the United States. The individual’s decision of whether to stay in the workforce or to retire is based on the collaboration of a number of factors including the following: eligibility for Social Security benefits, availability of and benefits under an employer-financed pension plan, work

Another idea would be to avoid increasing the tax rates as this will help “minimize economic distortions that shrink the level of production” (Baker III, 2009, p. 1). To promote economic growth, our team recommends that we take the approach of increasing the corporate tax base and decreasing the corporate tax rates. Other suggestion is to reduce the deductibility of state and local taxes. Other reforms that could be looked

President Obama acknowledged that it is not his “ideal plan” for reducing the deficit or growing the economy, according to a CBS News article by Stephanie Codon. Last year, the AARP released a national survey showing that eighty-four percent of voters fifty years and older oppose reducing Social Security benefits to reduce the Federal budget deficit. An entitlement reform would threaten benefit security–“a core value” of the Democratic Party. Cutting benefits when pensions are disappearing is the wrong direction.

The Social Security Act of 1935 was passed in order to provide for elderly citizens who could not provide for themselves. Through this system, working citizens would pay into the system to provide for citizens aged 65 and older, and then when they reached the age of 65 they would be cared for as well. This system continues today, but as the life expectancy of citizens increases, many wonder if the Social Security cut off age should be raised to 70. It should. The fact of the matter is that the average 65 year old does not need their social security check in the way they did in 1935, so the system shouldn’t be wasting its finite resources caring for them.

The state of our current Social Security program is that there are fewer workers to fund the Social Security program through payroll taxes due to the decrease in number of birth rates per woman. Simple math shows that less people to contribute equals less money being funded. Social Security payroll taxes were just reduced from 6.2% to 4.2% per worker. To be eligible to receive Social Security benefits, you must earn 40 “credits” which is equivalent to 10 years of working. The monthly retirement benefit amount is based on the retired workers lifetime earnings.

The solution to this daunting problem was to tax businesses. Payments to current retirees are financed by a payroll on current workers wages’ half directly as a payroll tax and half paid by the employer” (SCHC). “Congress” implemented strategically taking money from financial stable workers and their weather employer to give money to the elderly and physically impaired without hurting the financial stability of those taxed individuals. The government saw an opening for improvement with in their national support and took it for the betterment of the nation. The act also protects the and gives states money to support “unemployment insurance, aid to families with dependent children, maternal and child welfare, public health insurance, and blind services” (SCHC). The act expands on just the elderly receiving government assistance but all groups who can not provide for them selves due to uncontrollable circumstances that where originally caused by the governments neglect and the start of the great depression.

By looking at the ratio of young to elder citizens at that time, idea of providing benefits to retirees from young employees’ taxes was logical. Only thing that Roosevelt was unaware of was the period of “baby boom” that was going to create trouble in the future with providing benefits. With the retirement of “baby boomers” in around 2018, real crisis will start for Social Security Administration with providing higher amount of benefits from lower amount of incomes.

Fiscal Policy can be explained in many ways, for example. Fiscal policy is the use of the government budget to affect an economy. When the government decides on the taxes that it collects, the transfer payments it gives out, or the goods and services that it purchases, it is engaging in fiscal policy. The primary economic impact of any change in the government budget is felt by particular groups—a tax cut for families with children, for example, raises the disposable income of such families. Discussions of fiscal policy, however, usually focus on the effect of changes in the government budget on the overall economy—on such macroeconomic variables as GNP and unemployment and inflation.

B. Relevance Everyone is faced with the prospect of living their “golden” years without a paycheck. Social Security will very likely NOT be available to people currently younger than 40 and if it does survive will not be a

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

(5) Currently SS funds are collected and distributed on a pay - as - you -go (PAYG) system in which Social Security taxes from individuals are immediately distributed by the means of the SS Administration as it sees best fit. This means that taxes collected are not reserved for the individual who has paid them: in Rose 2 the current state he or she must rely on those persons paying SS taxes during the time of their retirement (Becker). For a number of these characteristics and future issues, the Social Security System must be reformed or completely abolished to meet the needs of tomorrow. The leading concerns of Social Security that merits the immediate initiation of reform are the demographic and economic circumstances in the coming century. Even though "forecasting the economy and budget over such a long period is uncertain" there remain many "certainties" regarding problems facing Social Security in the first half of the 21st century (OMB, Budget Perspectives 23). The Federal Government's responsibilities extend well beyond "the five- or six-year window" that has restricted the focus of recent budget analysis and debate. Of these "certainties" are the mounting challenges posed from the baby-boomer generation. This generation, born in the years after World War II, is aging

Although mandatory retirement is not largely popular, it still has an effect on many older workers and how they plan for retirement. "Mandatory retirement involves less than 1 percent of the work force and so opens up only a small fraction of the total jobs", because