Social Security Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Security Assignment - Research Paper Example The ongoing program is deemed to be insolvent by 2037 if no further additions are made to it. The problem with today’s ongoing plan is that it requires a great deal of money. As per the Washington Post report, with the passage of time the federal government will have to find additional money to cater to the needs of this plan. The present situation makes the United States unable to mobilize such a great amount by itself. So naturally, the government will be compelled either to borrowing or to raising the taxes because by the year 2027 the annual deficits of the US will have reached $200 million and by 2033, $300 million (â€Å"Whitehouse Social Security†). Even if the authorities raise the taxes to meet the expenses of the current plan, it will not be a suitable measure in the future as the costs also get increased and this will be greater than the revenue received from tax collection. In this regard, the present system of social security does not seem to be a permanent program. As Elrod reports in Senior Citizen Journal, by privatizing social security, the government puts the retirement money in the hands of the workers to invest in private retirement accounts. As a portion of their salary is retained through pay roll tax; and for this purpose it does not inflict any burden on the common people in the form of additional tax. According to Elrod, this is useful to the workers as they get a lump sum amount after retirement, and it can be invested to greater opportunities such as share market. People will have control over their personal accounts. As per the new plan, there will be no change for the existing system for people who were born before 1950. According to the new plan, employees have the opportunity to contribute towards a fund likewise thrift saving. Here the amount to be contributed by each person is decreased as he or she gets closer to the retiring age. The participants will not be allowed to access their personal accounts before they g et retired. The new plan seems to be odd when it comes to the wealth and income distribution. As for the high earning class, the new proposal is not a problem. In the US, the majority of wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people. Majority of rich people do not receive any income from working to constitute their wealth; on the other hand, they have it from the property they own. As Domhoff points out, the upper class own 34.4% of the privately held wealth; the middle class including professionals, the managerial and small scale industrialists hold 50.5% of wealth, and at last the common people comprising the peasants, daily wagers, and salary workers own only 15% of wealth. It definitely shows that the 20% of the total population enjoys 85% of the total wealth of the nation. As the above argument maintains, the majority of the rich are not working under the public sector, social security is not a matter of concern for them. It is the lower middle class that earn income from working who need any further social security. If the working lower class is asked to set aside a portion of their monthly earning to contribute to the social security fund, it affects their living as they will find it difficult to meet the both ends. So, this new plan is going to affect none other than the lower and middle level working class. Providing social security to its subjects is the responsibility of the government. Government has to perform this function without exerting any extra burden on the