Preview

Should Social Security Be Privatized? Why or Why Not.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
531 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Social Security Be Privatized? Why or Why Not.
Social Security Privatization:
Should We or Should We Not?

Social Security Privatization:
Should We or Should We Not?
Everyone has their opinions of Social Security. Many feel Social Security is their savings and the government should not mess with it or use it for paying off other debts. Others believe it should be privatized and that person should be allowed to do what they wish with their Social Security. I am hoping to touch on at least two points for each side of the argument. Before we can dive into each side we need to know how it all began.
Before the time of Social Security, people found ways to secure their economy. Back in ancient Greece, they used olive oil to ensure their economic security. In medieval times, serfs would tend to the lords manor and as long as there were a steady supply of serfs the lords had bountiful economic security. Land was a very vital part to economic security for those who possessed or lived farms. No one really understood the concept of saving up for retirement or severe injuries. Around the time of the Great Depression, in the 1930’s, many elderly were hesitant to ask for government assistance and there were many restrictions that would allow them to become eligible for a pension.
Franklin D Roosevelt proposed a way to assist elderly with retirement benefits, January 1935. Although Congress said it was a “governmental invasion of the private sphere and from those who sought exemption from payroll taxes for employers who adopted government-approved pension plans” (Our Documents) it was eventually passed and implemented eight months later. This act was established initially as a way government could assist elderly with retirement benefits. Social Security is a way to provide for not only elderly but also those in need. Not everyone receives the same amount of money from Social Security when they retire, or need it. It is all based on how much they pay into FICA, or Federal Insurance Contributions Act. This encompasses



References: Baldwin, B. (2011). Privatizing Pensions: The Transnational Campaign for Social Security Reform. Labour/ Le Travail, 68, pp. 240-242. Kotlikoff, L. J. (2000). Privatizing Social Security the Right Way. Independent Review, 5(1), p. 55. Our Documents. (n.d.). Social Security Act (1935). Retrieved from Our Documents: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=68 Penner, R. G. (2000). Issues in Privatizing Social Security/Should the United States Privatize Social Security (Book Review). Political Science Quarterly, 115(1), p. 124. ProCon.org. (n.d.). Should Social Security be privatized? Retrieved from ProCon: http://socialsecurity.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001605

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Social Security was established in 1935 and has been the largest social welfare program in the United States since. Its intended outcomes and funding comes from mandatory insurance system that levies a tax on payrolls and matched funds with the contributions of employers that are kept in a trust fund that pays retirement pensions based on prior earnings in the labor market. The targeted population is for workers that have reached the age of 66 or born after 1942. They receive a pension through the social security program, but also through private supplemental savings and pensions (Jillian Jimenez, 2012).…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Garrett, Thomas A., and Russell M. Rhine "Social Security versus Private Retirement Accounts: A Historical Analysis." Review (00149187) 87.2 (2005): 103. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2009.…

    • 4864 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What exactly is Social Security? Social Security was a program that was created by the federal government that was supported by nearly every working person in America. The Social Security Act was signed in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which was to provide retirement, survivors, and disability benefits to workers and their families, and to assume some of the health care costs borne by the elderly and the long term disabled. According to Epstein (2010), “President Roosevelt wanted to be sure that this country would never again face a crisis so disastrous to so many lives” (p. 4).…

    • 1690 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prior to the Great Depression, the United States had no solitary system of monetary assistance to the poor. Congress supported many programs to assist families in need. The Civil War Pension Program, designed to aide Civil War veterans, helped them and their families get back on their feet. Under Roosevelt, the Social Security Act was passed in the latter half of the nineteen-thirties.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Security implemented during the aging nation and is still necessary today based on the savings rates of baby boomers and the future of private pension plans. Boomers tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before. Boomers need social security today, as well as during the aging nation because of there retirement. During the aging nation, baby boomers retirement became a public concern because of the budgetary pressures that developed when baby boomers began to collect Social Security and Medicare benefits. The future private pension plans weren't accumulating enough private…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Privatizing Social Security can increase real incomes for everyone while ensuring a dignified retirement for future retirees. It is transforming the current Social Security system from an unfunded pay-as-you-go system to a system of mandatory private savings accounts. According to Altig and Gokhale, there are 4 key elements that supports this proposal and they are as follow:…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    I feel that as students we simply are not paying enough attention to what is going on in our country. Social Security is going to have a very big impact on our lives if we don't start taking action. The fact is that the people who will be affected by this new reform the most are this generation; it is not the President or his generation of baby boomers, it is us, the young college students. If our generation is going to be affected by this new reform then don't you think we should know why we need Social Security to be reformed, and how the new system will…

    • 1681 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    social security act

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages

    During the 1930s the Great Depression provoked the ugly crisis in the nation's economic life. The Great Depression left millions people unemployed, and with no money. It was a hard time to American since the majority of people were becoming homeless. América Changed dramatically banks were out of business, and saving accounts vanished. Also businesses went bankrupt; therefore most of the people in america were unemployed. The hard work of president Franklin Roosevelt, and other senators help creating safeness for all americans call social security act of 1935. In the book “ Our Document” by Michael Beschloss he discusses how Social Security act was created, and the benefits of it. This acts was to help the older age pension, welfare, and unemployment. This act was to provide security for the individual and his family, and to provide relief after the Great Depression.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social Security Outlook

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages

    If you make a lot of money, than you will get a larger benefit amount than the workers who do not make as much. But, the benefit formula is set up so that a person making lower wages will get a higher percentage of their pre-retirement earnings. There are nine in 10 American retirees who receive social security. For about 2/3 of the elders today, social security is their major source of income. For 1/3 of our elders, social security is their only income. There is only 11% of American seniors who live in poverty. Without social security there would be about ½ of our elderly living in poverty. People can retire normally at the age of 62, or wait until the full age of 65 and receive full benefits. But, starting this year, the age will gradually start to increase until it reaches 67 for people born in 1960 or later. The reason for this is because people are living longer, healthier lives than before. When the social security program started in 1935, a 65-year-old American had an average life expectancy of 12 ½ more years after retirement. Today the life expectancy is 17 ½ years and rising. Beginning in about 2008 and about 30 years, there will be about 79 million baby boomers retiring. This means there will be twice as many elderly as what there is today. When this happens there is not…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The problem with privatizing Social Security is that it in no way address these funding issues, it only takes the onus off of the government. It also creates instability to the beneficiaries and increased costs to manage the monies, not dissimilar to the heath insurance debate. The fees that would be charged to privately manage these monies would undoubtedly be greater that the costs today via the government run system as is indicated by other government run programs such as Medicaid.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The purpose of the welfare system is to provide assistance to those who have little to no income. The United States system of welfare derived its beginnings from the Social Security Act of 1935. The Social Security Act was enacted and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. According to National Center for Public Policy Research (2003), [to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare] (The Social Security Act (Act of August 14, 1935), para. 1). The act also encompassed those in the category of disabled, blind, and crippled. The Social Security Act was amended in 1939 to include dependent and survivor benefits of veterans. In 1956 the Social Security Act was again amended to include the Social Security Disability Insurance program.…

    • 1708 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay Social Security

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The current Social Security system should be replaced by a mandatory private pension system. The current system entails workers being forced to give a certain percentage of money out of their pay checks to Social Security. This tax money is used to pay benefits to retired people, disabled people, survivors of workers who have died, and dependents of beneficiaries (SSA). To most, this system sounds unfair because workers put in hours of labor for a paycheck that religiously has money taken out for someone else’s retirement, disability, etc.; however, people for this system believe this benefits everyone because workers are not in control of their own specific retirement fund so poor decisions cannot be made. In reality, people should be able to control the fate of their own retirement funds because they can decide when the money is necessary, which can be done by making the change to a private pension system.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Security Act

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Social Security Act of 1935, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, created a program that included social insurance programs, as well as public assistance. Both programs came about due to the depression and were created as part of the New Deal to benefit the citizens who needed assistance. While both programs were created to assist the public, each program had different eligibility requirements and accomplished different tasks.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Security Act

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An act to provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue, etc. On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act established a system of old-age benefits for workers, benefits for victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind, and the physically handicapped. 2.opposition, and why? The constitutional basis of the Social Security Act was uncertain. The basic problem is that under the "reserve clause" of the Constitution (the 10th Amendment) powers not specifically granted to the federal government are reserved for the States or the people. When the federal government seeks to expand its influence in new areas it must find some basis in the Constitution to justify its action. Obviously, the Constitution did not specifically mention the operation of a social insurance system as a power granted to the federal government! The Committee on Economic Security (CES) struggled with this and was unsure whether to claim the commerce clause or the broad power to levy taxes and expend funds to "provide for the general welfare," as the basis for the programs in the Act. Ultimately, the CES opted for the taxing power as the basis for the new program, and the Congress agreed, but how the courts would see this choice was very much an open question.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The New Deal was a series of programs established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the government in order to help struggling Americans. These programs fundamentally changed the government’s role and added a new expectation for being responsible for more than just laws and enforcement; it was the first time that it got involved in providing a safety net for poor citizens. In particular, Social Security was set up because there was a specific concern for the elderly and retired Americans. The Social Security program was intended to be, and essentially still is today, a social insurance program run by the government to provide economic security to its…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays