Preview

Social Security Research Paper

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3746 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Security Research Paper
Social Insecurity Social Security, which has been an entitlement program since 1937, is in danger of having inadequate funding for future retirees. This iconic program that almost everyone is counting on to help fund his or her retirement is paying out more money than it collects (Sanger-Katz). Opportunities to help Social Security remain a viable entitlement program lie within our abilities to revise existing policies that are currently unsuccessful. Our current Social Security structure requires reform to secure the necessary resources to fund this failing system. Eliminating the tax cap maximum, raising the minimum retirement age, and introducing means testing are policy shifts that will provide the needed changes to restore the Social Security system. Americans are …show more content…
“Social Security Fund to Run Out in 2035, Trustees Say,” Bloomberg. N.p., 23 April 2012. Web. 7 November 2012.
Gustman, Alan L., Thomas L. Steinmeier, and Nahid Tabatabai. “The Growth in Social Security Benefits among the Retirement-Age Population from Increases in the Cap on Covered Earnings.” Social Security Bulletin 2012: 49-61. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 7 November 2012.
John, David C., and Rea S. Hederman. “Lifting the Social Security Wage Cap Will Not Save the System.” Social Security. Ed. Mitchell Young. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 November 2012.
Kranish, Michael. “Future Seniors may see Benefits tied to Means Testing.” Boston Globe. N.p., 10 October 2012. Web. 7 November 2012.
McKinley, Kristine. “Social Security Means Testing – Can Means Testing Save Social Security? Most Say No.” Social Security Retirement Coach. N.p., 6 March 2012. Web. 7 November 2012.
Richtman, Max. “There 's no Social Security Crisis.” USA Today 27 Apr. 2012: 8A. Global Issues in Context. Web. 7 November 2012.
Sanger-Katz, Margot. “The Reckoning Looms.” National Journal 2012: n. page. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 November

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    has steadily increased, and birth rates have fallen. As a result, the elderly are becoming a larger share of the population. As more people become eligible for “entitlements”…

    • 2381 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Clark, Robert, and Sylvester Schieber. "The Shifting Sands of Retirement Plans." World at Work Journal, (Fourth Quarter 2000): 6–14.…

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    James Hall.Chapter16

    • 2254 Words
    • 10 Pages

    It is difficult to be satisfied when social security benefits are provided to high income retired people at the same time we are concerned about the viability of the Social Security program. On the other hand, the Social Security program was set up as a social insurance program, whereby the benefits we receive depend on the amount we have paid into the system. Thus while social security taxes are regressive, the eventual benefits are linked to these contributions, and the benefit structure is progressive.…

    • 2254 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    “If the Social Security system is further weakened, the elderly will have to fear poverty. Therefore, if the Social Security system is…

    • 995 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    04.05 Uncle Sam's Toolbox

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Should Congress continue to support social security? Absolutely! I think that the government should continue funding social security, because for some people that’s the only thing they can rely on as their source of income, if they stop funding social security then millions of people have no way of surviving then they have to go with their plan B which is go to other welfare programs like food stamps, etc. If they turn to other welfare programs doesn’t that mean it would cost the government even more money? Social security provides a source of income for people who doesn’t get enough benefits or people who have retired. I think this program is very advantageous and should continue to support and funding it if they don’t then millions of people have no ways of surviving, and increase poverty even more. Most people don’t know the history of social security, who created it, when it was created and why it was created. Well social security was created in 1935 and was signed into a law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression when impecuniousness rates among senior citizens exceeded by 50%, they decide to do something about it, and created the social security at first it was called the “social insurance”. We can never insure one-hundred percent of the population against one-hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life. But we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age. This law, too, represents a cornerstone in a structure which is being built, but is by no means complete.... It is...laws that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness” A quote from our beloved president Franklin D. Roosevelt. People, who are retired, disabled or cannot provide for themselves benefit from this as a…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For many years as Americans in our working society, we all hope to one day earn and save up enough money till we can reach our ultimate goal: retirement. Once we retire we assume the expression of “smooth sailing from here on out.” We assume that we can count on not only the money we have saved up, and a fraction of our previous regular governmental salaries, for those who are retired eligible military, as a stable monetary income. If we find ourselves in need of medical assistance, we look to Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, for those of us who haven’t quite reached our golden age, we may not all be entitled to reap tomorrow, some of the benefits of today.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 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

    The Social Security has managed to maintain a surplus since 1983 and will continue to do so until about 2037, if action isn’t taken to raise taxes or increase the contributions. President Barack Obama has a unique idea of imposing higher payroll taxes on wealthier individuals. Individuals may be under the impression that the Social Security may be broken because the amount of benefits they receive is minimal and expect those benefits to be their sole income. Individuals must come to the realization that Social Security is only there to supplement their income and not be their only means of an…

    • 1690 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This process is known as privatization. However, privatizing Social Security would require changing the structure of the whole program. This would be done by creating individual accounts for each and every beneficiary, which could have its risks, although people will receive benefits depending on their investments, subtracting the cost of what is lost in investments, along with managing expenses (Social Security). Arguments for privatization of Social Security include: the fact that the government's plan for the program will become insolvent by 2034, and it will lift future economic growth. However others believe that the government should remain in control of Social Security because it is cheaper, the transition to a new system is difficult, privatization will worsen the national debt, and many people in the US lack the financial knowledge to make their own financial decisions for later in their life. Social Security should not be privatized because the system of private accounts will not work and it is a worse…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reality of a failing Social Security system depends on which governmental agency or media personality to which you listen. There is no consensus on just how large or small an issue it is. According to testimony from Michael Tanner (Director of Health and Welfare Studies, Cato Institute) before a Senate Special Committee On Aging, there is great need for concern. The Social Security System's Board of Trustees reported that the retirement system will be insolvent by 2029, down from 2030 in last year's report. This represents the eighth time in the last 10 years that insolvency date has been brought forward. Mr. Tanner recommended that Social Security be privatized due to the reckless manner in which the fund has been handled. Under the current plan, workers will receive far below market return on their contributions, giving credibility to the argument for privatization. Other factors he listed as weighing against the current system were that “Life expectancy is increasing, while birth rates are declining. As recently as 1950, there were 16 workers for every Social Security beneficiary. Today there are only 3.3. By 2030, there…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Being a nineteen year old college student, what does Social Security have to do with you? The fact is, it has every thing to do with us as students! Shortly after President Bush's re-election, he started to put his new found political muscle into Social Security reform, declaring now is the time to act. This new reform will allow workers to withhold payroll endings and put that money into personal retirement accounts. This new plan is designed to give the American people the ability to invest their own money. So many of us less informed and younger voters might ask, why do we need this new Social Security and what is wrong with the old system? The answer is simple, we simply have too many people to support the system…

    • 1681 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Since passed by Congress in 1935, Social Security has been considered by Americans to be one of the most beneficial and supported government programs, providing benefits to society and the elderly. Despite its widespread popularity, the program faces major funding issues, making the future of Social Security seem unpromising. In the 2013 annual report by the Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees, the Social Security program is estimated to be drained by 2033, after which it would be able to fund only seventy-five percent of promised benefits (“Social Security, Present and Future”). This projected downfall of Social Security has many people wondering…

    • 2274 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    If you plan on retiring when you are 65, make sure you are ready. Planning for retirement is very important and the earlier you start, the more stable you will be when the time comes. You may believe Social Security will be enough to cover your needs when you retire but given the certain circumstances regarding Social Security today, you may want to think again about your future finances.…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The following year – 1996 was meant to be the year of significant change not just for the Department of Health and Human Services, but for the citizens of the United States. This year President Clinton signed "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act’ that he symbolically called the end of welfare as we knew…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    That plan is known as Social Security. Initially created during the New Deal, it was a compassionate program to help prevent elderly people from being destitute and was founded on a sound economic model. However, the government’s failure to predict life expectancy and demographic changes, programs expansions to include people with disabilities, and other added benefits have made the program much more expensive and put Social Security in jeopardy of being financially unstable.…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays