Established in 1935, the Social Security Act was put in place to develop programs aimed to alleviate fiscal problems during unemployment, retirement, or death of the breadwinner of the family. The Old-age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program (OASDI) is commonly known as "Social Security." One may begin receiving social security once he or she has reached retirement age, the breadwinner of the family has died, or one that has worked at least 40 quarters (10 years) and has recently become unemployed may also begin receiving benefits. This system has proven to be flawed, as now there are far too many retirees and too few workers paying into the fund. Now, we (the working class) face the possibility that we may never see any of the money when we retire. There are many ideas floating around about how we can reform social security to make it withstand such 'wear and tear,' but we have yet to agree on one solution to implement. Some suggest that we raise the cap on salary to make those who earn more than $97, 500 pay more into the fund (larger percentage). Others think we should raise the payroll tax for everyone. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Recovery Act of 2009 which was implemented to help stimulate job growth and the economy. The act included the Issuing of a one-time payment of $250 to social security beneficiaries.
Although i think i would not be very helpful in the 'coming up with a solution' portion of addressing the fiscal problems of social security, I do agree that something has to be done to make SSI more durable and dependable for future generations. However, I do disagree with those that think SSI benefits should be decreased. I think it would be unfair to us when we retire, as well as those who have worked so very hard to get to retirement. That is not the way to go, for sure.
I agree with what you said about finding a solution for SS that is durable and dependable for future generations. We hear all this talk about, "is it going to last?" and "will it be around when we get older?" This scares me frankly and I want to know what our government is doing to ensure that when we are in need of SSI that it will be there? I guess, I'm asking more questions than anything else but that is what this week's topic has brought to mind! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDelete-Emily Minday
Wow, I'm surprised you would say the SSI should be decreased because it is already barely enough to sustain above the poverty level. Also the SS program is wonderful and durable and the reserve or trust should have had enough for times like this in which there is not enough persons working to support retirees. It was actually government mismanagement of money that is the cause of the depleted funds in SS.
ReplyDeleteLazaruspoverty I think you misread. I said I disagree with those that think SSI should be decreased. I do not agree that the program is durable, otherwise we would not be in this situation now. Lol. I do agree that it is the governments fault and not ours though. Thanks for your input.
ReplyDelete-Angela Hamm