Social Security Argumentative Essay

In recent years there has been some debate regarding Social Security. Some people argue that it is in trouble and on the verge of nonexistence. Their counterparts, however, argue that Social Security is fine and will be around for years to come. No matter one’s stance on this subject, it is an important question in regards to today’s society. What side will you choose? In order to better understand the subject at hand, one must first be able to answer the following question: what is Social Security? Social Security is defined as: the federal program that provides retirement benefits, survivors’ benefits, and disability benefits to people age 62 and over, and to their dependents (Moomaw). With a clear understanding of what Social Security
Social Security trustees have taken this in to consideration and believe that if nothing is changed between now and then that in 2078, they will be able to pay seventy-three cents of every dollar that year (Schoen). To some, my self-included, this seems like a validating point for the opposition. However, Schoen agrees with the trustee’s explanation that the deficit can be made up by one of two ways. It is believed by Social Security that this deficit in the year 2078 can be accounted for by either raising taxes or cutting benefits in some way (Schoen).
With the prediction that Social Security being able to make payments for the estimated forty-four years, and most of its payments within the seventy-five year window, John Schoen doesn’t believe that there is a problem with Social Security as it stands now. When it comes to all of the extreme predictions in regard to Social Security, he believes that it is a ploy to “privatize” the Social Security system, so that workers are not being taxed to pay for retirement. There are many people who would be inclined to agree with John Schoen’s point of view, but are they
This is a problem because it is believed that there will not be money to pay beneficiaries because of such low numbers of workers paying into the system. The U.S. Chamber of commerce also believes that in the year 2017 the Social Security System will be in the negative, and that in 2025 the system will be out of money all together. If these assumptions are true, this is a very scary situation.
Chuck Blahous, a Social Security trustee, has gone as far to say the problems of the Social Security program are “somewhere between critical and too late to deal with it” (News-Gazzette.com) This statement is not a very positive one in regards to the Social Security “crisis”. The August 2012 News-Gazzette.com article, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce article also states that the problem lies in the fact that there aren’t enough workers entering the work force to pay into the system. This seems to be a common theme amongst those who believe that the Social Security program is headed for certain