Argumentative Essay On Social Security

3698 Words15 Pages

Social security, a program which many people take for granted, faces a $6.5 trillion deficit over the next 75 years and will go bankrupt much sooner than that (Ryan, 2013). One of the largest welfare programs in the US, social security offers a basic pension for retirees once they turn 62. Many people depend on social security for a large portion of their income and would be living in poverty without it. However, this vital program happens to be a doomed program. The government is faced with a question they currently have no answer for, jeopardizing the well being of millions of Americans. Sadly, government divisiveness and laziness may cause this problem to be passed on to the next generation, like the previous administration did. The government …show more content…

When the stock market crashed, many companies went under causing millions of workers to lose their private pension plans (Peterson, 2016). These workers depended heavily on those pensions to support their families in retirement as saving for retirement privately was very uncommon at this point. The government, already looking for ways to bring Americans out of poverty, saw an opportunity to provide the elderly a viable source of income in their retirement so that they are not required to work into their 70s and 80s to support their families. The FDR administration instituted social security with the Social Security Act of 1935 offering nearly all workers over the age of 65 benefits (Grudem, 2010). These benefits pulled millions of Americans out of poverty and actually saved lives by giving them money to buy food and water. Social security offered America hope in some of its darkest days, allowing the elderly to spend more time with their families instead of more time in factories. In turn, this cleared space for younger workers to occupy the jobs previously held by the elderly giving younger families extra income as well. Social security was so vital to the American economy in its time of greatest need in that it benefited everyone, young and old. With its creation, the social security pension immediately made a positive impact on the economy becoming a staple of American