Social Security

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 is, one can now embark on the process of deciding whether Social Security is in trouble or not.

Like any other subject, there are two sides. Let us first explore the side that believes that there are no problems with Social Security. In an article released by NBC news, John Schoen discusses why he believes the current Social Security system is not in trouble, as well as what the two main debates surrounding Social Security are. The first debate is whether or not Social Security is "going broke" and the second is in regards to who should mage retirement savings, the people or the government (Schoen).

In a 2004 report done by the Social Security trustees, it was believed that Social Security would be able to pay out for the next forty years (Schoen). This is due in part to a substantial amount of treasury securities that have been collected and put away over the years. According to this report, Social Security would be able to pay out until the year 2044. A seventy-five year prediction of the Social Security outlook must be done by the Social Security trustees; this is mandated by law (Schoen).

Seventy-five years from when Schoen's article was written would be around the year 2078. 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