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Social Security System: Inequality In The United States

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Social Security System: Inequality In The United States
The US for a long time has had the largest gap and inequality between rich and poor compared to all the other industrialized nations. For example in 2003, the top 1% received more money than the bottom 40% with the gap widest in 70 years. Furthermore, in the last 20 years while the share of income going to the top 1% has increased, it has decreased for the poorest 40%. Inter Press Service also summarizes an updated report by the US Census Bureau that 1 in 7 people in the US are in poverty. In 2009, 43.6 million people — 14.6 percent of the population — were living in poverty in the U.S., up from 13.2 percent of the population in 2008. (Pascale, 2010) The United States currently has the highest number of people in poverty it has ever had since …show more content…
Many young people do not believe that it is a system that can sustain itself, yet they have no choice but to pay into it as the funds are taken out of their paychecks before they receive them.
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In the nation of Australia, a plan was devised called Superannuation in 1992. This plan, unlike social security, only pertains to one 's retirement benefits, and the differences between the two continue from there.
U.S. Social Security System
Social Security came about as a much needed program during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. More than 50% of senior citizens were living in poverty, and a program was needed to prevent this from continuing, allowing older people to maintain their dignity, and so this plan was in place to be funded by payroll taxes. In 1939, it was amended to include minor children whose parent(s) had died. Later on, it also included
…show more content…
Low income workers who participate in supplementing their superannuation accounts receive a match from the government that can be withdrawn at age 60.
In my opinion, if you are a person who hates the idea of a company taking care of your pension, this is a terrible program, but for those who love the idea of people receiving benefits solely based on the work they did, and salary they earned, this program is very attractive. Australia does have other programs that are encompassed in the US Social Security Act 's amendments, but when it comes to the specific benefits that Social Security was meant to be, which was a type of insurance to ensure that the elderly lived their remaining years with dignity, the superannuation plan is one that only has one purpose, which it was originally intended for. However, I don’t believe that this program would solve the looming Social Security issues within the U.S. The tax system in the United States is so complex that this reform alone will not solve anything, but to clarify where one 's retirement benefits, as they pertain to Social Security, come from. In order to solve the problems that come with taxes, a more extreme kind of tax reform would be

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