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Social Security Pros And Cons

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In the midst of today’s economic turmoil, an on-going debate regarding the viability of the Social Security program is resurfacing and facing serious conflict. Many politicians avoid the controversy of the program because there honestly seems to be no favorable answer that can address the masses and appease everyone. As of June 30, 2011, 57.7 million people or 18.2% of the U.S. population were receiving monthly Social Security benefits.[1] Currently, the program’s future is questionable, many citing that, “the Social Security system is experiencing a declining worker-to-beneficiary ratio, which will fall from 3.3 in 2005 to 2.1 in 2040.” (Social Security Bulletin, 1) There have been several suggestions on how to “fix” the broken system, including …show more content…

These retirement benefits are a form of social insurance. Throughout a worker's career, the SSA and the Internal Revenue Service, IRS, keeps track of earnings and requires Federal Insurance Contribution Act, FICA and/or Self Employed Contribution Act, SECA, taxes to be paid on the earnings. The OASI accounts plus trust funds are the only Social Security funding source that brings in more than it sends out. The disability insurance (DI) taxes of 1.4% are included in the OASDI rate of 6.2% for workers and employers or 12.4% for the self-employed. The outgo of $140.3 billion while having income of only $109.1 billion means the disability trust fund is rapidly being depleted. This portion of the program, itself, is significant enough to take note for reform as the additional retirees expected under the "baby boom bulge" will hasten this trust fund depletion and experts estimate the total depletion by 2018 without …show more content…

This is sadly not a reality, although millions are relying on their Social Security to see them through their retirement years. Los Angeles Times puts it, “It’s not a retirement savings program; it’s an insurance plan designed to help the elderly, the disabled, and their families stay out of poverty.” The fact is Social Security’s finances continue to deteriorate. This is due to many abuses of the systems other programs. Policies have carelessly relaxed requirements for other programs to the point that it is more advantageous for people who could otherwise be part of the contributing workforce to instead feed off a declining system. Further, this liberalization is being exploited by rising health care costs. For example, SSDI has doubled in the last two decades, and benefits are outpacing tax revenues causing the system to run deficit. Medicare benefits cost the government an estimated 80 percent of SSDI, producing an altogether bill of $244 billion in tax dollars in 2013. When the tax rate for 1.8 of the worker’s salary, there is no support overall for these costs. (US Government Historical Table

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The social security is a costing system and it occupies a big proportion in the government spending. In Barbara R. Bergmann’s article “Could Social Security Go Broke?,” she deems that there is enough fund in the social security system and the government can easily transfer the tax income from current employees and firms that employ these employees to the social security to support retirees’ lives. This point of view only can be considered as assumption, but not for the real world. After the finacial crisis in 2008, a large number of employees were laid off during that time and some employees decided to retire early, which results the labor force in American has shrunk. In the meantime, the presence of effective technology products,

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332 Words | 2 Pages

In his race for the open Iowa Senate seat, Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley has put great emphasis on Social Security. That’s good – Social Security is a crucial program for millions of Americans and the biggest domestic line item in the federal budget. But Braley’s political focus on Social Security doesn’t mean he actually has a policy in mind to fix it. According to the DesMoines Register, Braley “believes raising the federal minimum wage would add billions of dollars to the Social Security trust fund and extend its solvency.”

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840 Words | 4 Pages

More than 40 years ago a pension was the best form of assurance for a financially happy life after retiring. In 2016, the Central States Pension Fund forecasted that it will run out of money in the near future. To potentially stop the fund from running out of money, it has proposed cuts to current and future pension payments. These cuts will affect not only thousands of workers, but could affect millions. As the director of the Central States Pension Fund it would be best to push for cuts on pension payments.

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1351 Words | 6 Pages

The life expectancy rate in another country has decreased compared to the United States because of different methods that use such as, social support and social services. The welfare of an individual is important, but we’re constantly spending more on health care due to fact, individuals can’t afford health insurance. This issue has been a problem for decades now and it appears to be that America is ignoring the fact, which something drastically needs to change, in order to get better results. In this book review, I will discuss the differences between social supports and social services, how America health care system is different from other countries and what kind of changes should be made in order to have a much and improved health care

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918 Words | 4 Pages

Before the New Deal, many conservatives often found the idea of social security to be frowned upon because of the misuse of hard working tax money going to waste. This was a significant change because throughout the great depression, the federal government was not heavily relied on for support within the workforce until after the New Deal programs were put into effect. In times of need,

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1044 Words | 5 Pages

Social Security is a federal insurance program that provides benefits to retired people and also those who are unemployed or disabled. Social Security consists of three programs retirement, disability and survivors. Social security is funded by a payroll tax. According to the article “How is Social Security Financed” the payroll tax makes the employers and employees each pay 6.2 percent of wages, while the self-employed pay 12.4 percent. This payroll tax is deducted from an employee’s paycheck.

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729 Words | 3 Pages

While many of his legislature was abandoned or replaces in the 70’s and 80’s, there remains one that stands above all in its importance. The Social Security System is

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Charles Fusco, Federal Writers’ Project interview in which he offers his perspective on the New Deal, “Roosevelt Is a ‘Damned Good Man’” says, “This social security measure gives some protection to 30 million of our citizens who will receive direct benefits through unemployment compensation, through old-age pensions, and through increased services for the protection of children and the prevention of ill health.” “It will act as a protection to future Administrations against the necessity of going deeply into debt to help the needy. It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States with a sound economic structure”(SQ 3, E). Social security was very important to the Success of the New Deal. The text says, “Social security was a piece of this change, signaling Americans viewed the government as responsible for ensuring that older Americans would live decent lives.

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774 Words | 4 Pages

It was created as a way to collect taxes throughout an employee's or employer’s working career. This money would then go into a monthly pension, where that particular worker could then use his or her money once they reached a certain age. However, the pension system excluded agricultural workers and servants from receiving any of these benefits, and since women and African Americans were the ones mainly affected by this exclusion, people who were in need of aid never received their social security. The money collected from Social Security would also be given out to mothers with children who needed

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1297 Words | 6 Pages

The idea was thought of by some to be an outrageous proposal, but is now widely accepted by both liberals and conservatives everywhere. Similar to minimum wage, social security was also thought of as a radial form of collectivism back when it was established. (“Franklin D. Roosevelt” 2016) Social security works by adding a tax on everybody's pay, that is kept track of so when they retire, it can be paid back to them by the government. It is a way of guaranteeing a person saves for retirement.

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582 Words | 3 Pages

It also offers many other benefits for children, widowed and disabled Americans. Social Security is a federal agency that fights old-age poverty. The primary source of the Social Security poster gives lots of information. It explains that it can offer, “a monthly check to you for the rest of your life, beginning when you are 65”.

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1014 Words | 5 Pages

Much of our taxes are put into Social Security, health insurance programs, and other programs that help and support our society. Social Security for example, provides monthly retirement benefits for retired workers, their spouses and children, as well as the spouses and children of deceased workers and disabled workers, it takes up about 24% of our taxes (CBPP). Our taxes also fund 26% of our health insurance programs, including Medicare functions, administrative costs and premiums, as well as the “Grants to States for Medicaid” account, the “Children’s health insurance fund” account, and the “Refundable Premium Tax Credit and Cost Sharing Reductions” account (CBPP). Other programs where our taxes are put into are benefits for federal retirees and veterans, transportation, education, science and medical research, and non-security international affairs which makes use of about 18% of our taxes (CBPP). Taxes truly benefit the people, it provides us with assistance and support to help each one of us move forward.

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1605 Words | 7 Pages

A Call for a Single Payer Universal Health Care System As the 2016 Presidential Elections draw near, the topic of much debate is that of healthcare. Some candidates vow for universal healthcare and mandate health insurance for all, while others believe that tax credits and health savings accounts will resolve the current crisis. Consequently, the nation has been divided on which plan to support and move forward with. Some fear universal health care will diminish the quality of care and lead to long waits, while others fear that health savings accounts and tax credits won’t be enough to insure all and will do little to diminish the administrative costs of the current system. Ultimately because healthcare is a basic right that should be guaranteed

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681 Words | 3 Pages

The American Social Security program is in a troubling start. Funding for the program is slowly starting to trickle away as more and more citizens are starting to receive these benefits. The government needs to change something to try and fix this problem. Privatizing the social security program to allow banks to take over the program is one way politicians and economists have considered fixing the issues. This would allow the government to cut back spending in the area, allow the citizens to control more of their own retirement, and allowing them to get a higher return for their lifetime investments into the program.

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1002 Words | 5 Pages

Currently, “The Social Security payroll tax applies to annual earnings up to $118,500 (Updating Social Security for the 21st Century). This means that earnings above $118,500 are not subjected to the payroll tax at all. Seeing, as the tax cap covers only about 83 percent of all total earnings in the nation there is a lot of money that is

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