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The Social Security Program

Decent Essays

The Social Security program has benefitted many Americans since its inception in 1935. However, Social Security faces many challenges. This paper will provide a general overview of the Social Security program, highlight concerns with the current system and outline some methods to reform Social Security. Some may argue the program will continue to provide uninterrupted benefits for the foreseeable future with no issues. However, Social Security reform is essential to ensure the program will continue to benefit Americans and not create a financial burden on future generations.
Social security initially provided benefits for a more narrow scope than it does today. It was designed to benefit the elderly, unemployed and widows with children.
Since …show more content…

In 2014, the average American retiree collected nearly $1,300 a month, this makes up a significant
Maxim 2 portion of the retiree’s income. In order to provide these benefits to retirees a 6.2% tax on the wages of working Americans is imposed. Historically Social Security took in more from taxes than it paid out in benefits. This led to a surplus in Social Security funds.
However, according to Lucy Mueller
“Unfortunately, those funds are no longer just an emergency buffer. For the last five years, there’s been a cash flow deficit – it’s currently about $75 billion a year, a number that’s expected to rise precipitously by the end of this decade. At this rate, the 2014 Social Security Trustees report estimates that the trust funds will become insolvent, i.e. run out, by 2033 (Mueller, 1).”
Essentially millions of Americans are paying into the Social Security program every paycheck while under the impression they will one day be able to take advantage of the benefits of the program. However, if the Program is out of funds in the next 20 years, future generations will not be entitled to the amount of funds that they are …show more content…

Put simply there aren’t enough people paying into the program compared with the number of people being paid by the program. This ratio problem has many contributing factors and includes more and more baby boomers retiring, longer average life spans, and a lower fertility rate in the United States. According to Mueller,
“One of the reasons for Social Security’s continuing deficits is the influx of retirees, which is putting a strain on an already strained system. Every month,
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250,000 more baby boomers turn 65, with many dropping out of the workforce. In
2010, 10 percent of boomers were retired; in 2014, that number had jumped to
17 percent.”(Mueller, 2)
This “influx” is moving the contributor to beneficiary ratio in the wrong direction. As far as longer lifespans, if Americans are living longer but the average retirement age is not moved higher than obviously they will spend more time collecting benefits and further push the program into debt. This argument is also supported by “The Challenge of
Democracy”
When the program began, it had many contributors and few beneficiaries…nine workers supported each beneficiary. As the program matured and more

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