Social Security Fund and Related Issues

The Social Security Act came to be because of a few factors affecting the country at the time of realization. Those factors mainly included Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression that adversely affected the country. This caused the government to look into the matter and come up with a long-term solution for its subject (Coleman and Funk 76). The social security fund, created around the 1930s, is one of the most costly items in the national budget to date but of the greatest advantage to those receiving it. The program was formed to provide the aged insurance that will take care of their needs after retirement. The act was a turning point for many elderly who are out of the workforce since it provides the resource of livelihood to all the retired people for an income (Coleman and Funk 88).

Social security fund being the most fundamental financial protection plan has been beamed by a few problems. The government is put in a position that it cannot pay to those entitled to it when their time comes, and it is becoming difficult to guarantee the younger generation who are entering the workforce this benefits due to the plight the Social Security is going through. Social security subsidy has been an increasingly escalating debated topic over the past several years due to the fact that the funds in the pool of the Social security are rapidly diminishing and it is not in a position to support all its retiring recipients. Alternatives will have to sort, into the Social Security system in order to change its functionality, to enable it to accommodate everyone in the bracket of retiring (Coleman and Funk 94).

The original reason, that social Security was founded, was to offer a basic insurance cover for the retirees; it was a plan for the employed to provide the Social Security with the money, by paying premiums, that they can fund the benefits for those in retirement. However, along the way, the demographics changed life expectancy increased and the percentage ratio of those working, those providing the money, and those retiring, the beneficiaries, was drastically dropping. This was a clear indication, that sooner than later the money coming in will not be sufficient to hold up the money going out. Suggestions were made and a scheme was created where additional funds i.e. inform on Treasury bonds and IOUs from the government, were put in the pool, to increase the money to be given to the retiree. Unfortunately, instead of the money being used to recover the financial debt it was in, the money was spent on other various government expenses (Coleman and Funk 96).

This has caused even more anxiety among the people since predictions are showing that in a few years to come, there will not be adequate trust fund not only to take care of the retirees but also those that loaned the government informs of Bonds.

Legislator and most American residents have the same opinion on the issue affecting Social Security and is pushing the government, through campaigns and activist, to put in place significant changes and upgrade the funding system. Fixing this crisis now as opposed to later will be comparatively easier (Lubove 348). The budget deficit will unavoidably be dealt with in two ways, you can either lower the benefits or raise the taxes. Either way in this situation is a loss and loss case but at the end of the day, the social security scheme will be saved. Other alternatives involve urging the public to save aggressively just to be on the safer side in case things do not go well with the modification of the fund.

With each passing day, current projections point to signs of crisis showing that Social security is heading the bankruptcy road and it is making blank promises to our children and grandchildren. It might not be in a position to pay the future generations, but we are hopeful that if a remedy can be found sooner than later it could survive. Since the inception of the Social security fund, the system has offered benefits to supplement the earnings of people upon their retirement and with a few changes in the retirement policy generations will be given a chance to enjoy its benefits.

References

Coleman, Linda and Funk, Robert. Professional and public writing: a rhetoric and reader for advanced composition. New York, NY: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

The Social Security Administration Program 1972

Summary of the Information Gathered From the Interview

The information gathered after the interview about actuaries revealed the imperative role that an actuary plays in any given organization. In this profession, an actuary should be computer proficient, and equipped with excellent communication skills. An actuary should have general knowledge in finance matters, math, calculus and statistics. For one to be an actuary, there are skills that one should have. One of them is specialized knowledge in math, calculus, statistics and probability. This is important because actuarial science has a lot of calculations that require accuracy. Math, calculus, statistics and probability are a basis of the financial analysis done. One should have keen analytical skills. This helps in achieving accuracy while analyzing documents and information gathered. It is important to also have project management and problem solving skills. Project management helps in achieving good managerial skills. As an actuary, one can handle and be in charge of several departments. One will have financial projects to handle therefore making it important for one to have excellent project management skills. Good sense of business, finance, accounting and economics would be an added advantage.

Introduction

A discourse community is the means and ways in which people communicate in an organization, a firm or even in a profession. The discourse usually has some rules and regulations that have been set by that particular body and they have to be followed while communicating. The professional bodies that I hope to join in the future are the Society of Actuaries and Casualty Actuary Society. For one to join this profession, you have to undertake a course in actuarial science and work in a firm that deals with actuary for a minimum number of years so as to acquire the experience needed. The skills that one requires to be an actuary are deep knowledge in mathematics, analytical skills, and problem solving skills, knowledge in all areas of business studies and great communication skulls as well as computer skills. The challenges that actuarial scientists face are mainly the sustainability risks. An actuarial scientist can undertake different jobs which include marketing, underwriting, finance and product scrutiny. In this profession, one must read regularly to keep in touch with the current affairs and the readings include industrial related articles and the law as it gets amended. The actuaries use the business style as their writing style of writing and what they write includes business and project proposals.

For one to be an authority in the field of actuarial science they have to have both technical skills and soft skills. One needs to have passed both the technical and professional exams. Being a member of a professional body in the field of actuarial science and related disciplines is an added advantage. One must also have integrity and be ethical in all his dealings.

Detailed Analysis of the Document Analysed

The Social Security Administration program, which was established in 1972, is a nationwide program that is administered by Social Security Income program to help the needy by providing them with a minimum level of income. The amount of money that is spent continues to increase with each passing year as the number of people placing claims is increasing. This program has been planned to be in place for 25 years. This is mainly attributed too the total growth in the US population. The population being supported by this program varies in age.

The current issue facing the SSI program is the increases in the claims. Applications for the SSI program benefits are increasing and to determine the disability claims quickly, technology and streamlined policy have been put in place. SSI program has benefits such as offering basic financial support to those in need, the old, blind, and any disabled persons. Congress designed the SSI program based on principles such as eligibility requirements and benefit standards that are nationally uniform and eligibility determinations. Due to the increase of demand for people to be assisted, they came up with some helping program. There are incentives and opportunities for those recipients able to work or to be rehabilitated that would enable them to reduce their dependency on public assistance. An efficient and economical method of providing assistance is established in this community. An inducement is used to encourage States to provide supplementation of the basic Federal benefit and protection. Alternatively, former recipients of State adult assistance programs who were converted to the SSI program can be used.

As the SSI program was being established, a survey was done to find out if the aged, the blind and disabled people would qualify for Federally-funded adults. Their assistance depended on the State in which each one of them lived. Any benefit amount that was collected varied from State to State. Some states had higher benefits than others while other states made little benefits. It is important to note that the SSI program replaced the State-run programs with a national program. These national programs had uniform standards and objectives that were uniform. They all used eligible criteria.. Examples of the standards that were considered included having a uniform limitation on amount of dollar a person could have and its value so as to qualify for the SSI assistance. Individuals and couples had an income limit that was matched with Federal benefit rates thus determining their assistance for the program. The income increased annually because of the cost of living. A minimum of 65years was used as the age requirement for assistance. A uniform definition of disability and blindness is one of the factors considered.

Authority and Responsibilities

An authority figure is someone with power; authority can be on a big scale or a small scale. For one to be an authority in the field of actuarial science they have to have both technical skills and soft skills. One needs to have passed both the technical and professional exams. Being a member of a professional body in the field of actuarial science and related disciplines is an added advantage. One must also have integrity and be ethical in all his dealings.

With power comes responsibility. A good authority figure lives up to the responsibility of their power where as a bad one abuses it or neglects the responsibilities accorded. One of the responsibilities an actuary has in his or her job is writing reports and memos. Actuaries have the duty of handling information in form of written communications. They come up with formal files and reports. These reports are submitted to regulatory bodies and sometimes are required to be long. Other times the company may ask for informal memos to be circulated. Actuaries may also be required to create documents that are technical. If one works as a consulting actuary, one has a duty of producing letters and memos. The way communication is carried out is largely determined by the kind of work that is undertaken and also the kind clients an actuary is dealing with.

Benefits

SSI has many benefits.However, these benefits are not the only form of assistance that is available to needy people, aged, blind and disabled persons. Medicaid food stamp is a program that offers temporary State assistance. It is also important in that it keeps individuals from going back into a higher level of poverty. The program SSA plays a limited and useful role. It helps the States in administration of Medicaid and Food Stamp programs. It also ensures that there are provisions in the SSI statute and that all payments are made. There are no duplicated benefits from SSI programs by the states. All the benefits had been stated clearly and there was no exceptional for any member. This program had been of great benefit to the people who were registered.

The SSI program is important in that it gives SSI Medicaid. They are qualified for this cover. Some of the criteria used by a State may either be SSI eligibility in order to determine Medicaid eligibility or they can use their own criteria. This is so long as the medical standards are met. Benefits received by a person can be revoked if SSI benefits are determined by retroactive social security benefits. It is of importance to note that if the person has not been paid during the month they are covered for, they are still eligible. There was an agreement with the Department of Agriculture and SSA. They would also make food stamp applications available to them.

Conclusion

Just like those who received assistance from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, this program also had its regulations. For a person to be considered disabled, one had to be checked if they were mentally or physically challenged. This challenge had to have lasted for 12 months or was to last for 12 months, and sometimes result in deaths. For a person to be considered blind, a person had to have a challenge even with the correcting lens. A uniform standard for citizenship and residency was considered in the program. In order to be eligible for SSI, an individual must be a citizen or national of the United States, an American Indian born in Canada who is admitted to the United States under section 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act who was receiving SSI benefits on August 22, 1996, or be a qualified alien in one of the following

It is important to note that actuarial science is a field that is more practical than theoretical. It has more calculations than theory. An actuary being a business person who deals with financial risks in a company and uncertainties, he /she have an obligation of giving an assessment that is expertise on financial security system. An actuary needs to incorporate programs that are able to take care of risks. To be able to do this, an actuary needs to have skills in analysis; he should also have business acumen and also understand how humans behave. (Be an actuary, pg. 1.)

As an actuary, one should be very careful with the decisions they make and the information they give. It is wise for them to keep some information private as it is necessary. An actuary should be committed towards completing all assignments on time; keep proper records and should be a critic since in statistics every minute detail counts. It is vital that all organizations have actuaries because they come in handy and can save them a great deal at the end of the day.

Works Cited

BeAnActuary. “What is an Actuary?” 2010. Web.

A Bankrupt Social Security Program

Introduction

Of all the gifts Baby Boomers will give to Millennials, a bankrupt Social Security program will be the most appreciated. The Social Security trust funds will exhaust all assets by 2035, at which point the program will have to rely solely on current revenues (Schobel, 2022). At that point, the money coming into the fund from all sources will only be enough to pay for around three-fourths of the program costs (Warshawsky, 2022). The Social Security program should be revised because it is still unsustainable, cannot supply sufficient financial security, and does not perform as an effective socioeconomic equalizer.

Discussion

The Social Security program cannot be funded due to previous patterns and initiatives. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 progressively raised the full retirement age to 67 and taxed up to half of an individual’s Social Security payout if their income exceeded a specified threshold. Future funding restrictions and a dearth of alternatives based on solid data might make the Security Program’s long-term goals unachievable. It is difficult for stakeholders to conduct an unbiased analysis of the United States Social Security initiative’s declining viability. These long-term solvency issues show that current reserves may be depleted within the next 12-15 years.

However, one can argue that the program is an essential foundation for stable financial flows into industrial activities, given the present demand for related services. Here, it should be stressed that a combination of factors, including rising unemployment rates and a lack of proper mitigation plans, has resulted in decreased program revenues, which in turn affects the beneficiaries’ financial stability. Moreover, the Social Security program cannot be sustained in the long run because it does not offer the intended recipients sufficient financial security. As more individuals become eligible for this type of assistance, the proportion of the population that can contribute is stable due to high unemployment.

Conclusion

Thus, the Social Security program has certain flaws that render it less viable and unable to provide the major recipients with appropriate financial security. These issues help to explain why the ineffectual endeavor has failed to achieve the nation’s goal of social equality. If this program is to fulfill its initial aim, a fresh method is consequently advised to update and enhance its efficacy.

References

Schobel, B. D. (2020). Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Social Security. Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 74(6), 34–38. Web.

Warshawsky, M. J. (2022). Reforming Social Security. National Affairs, 51, 18–37. Web.

Social Security System Should Not Be Privatized

The present Social Security system operates as follows: payment is made in Social Security while users work. Individuals who have already retired and those impaired are paid benefits with tax money. According to Faradzhov, in the long run, both the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program (OASDI) yearly rates of cost rates will climb from current 2020 levels (14.37 and 3.52 percent) (24). Social Security costs are expected to rise to 18.38 % of taxable payroll in 2078, then fall to 17.70 % in 2095 (Ramirez and Lewis 1013). Privatization will replace the current social security system, pay-as-you-go, with a system that is managed privately managed with individual accounts for each taxpayer. Those in favor of privatization think that doing so will result in higher savings rates, larger returns, and bigger retirement benefits. Due to several critical reasons, the current social security system should not be replaced by a mandatory private system.

Employees and their families current insurance protection against death and incapacity would be jeopardized. A portion of the money that covers the current insurance plan might be transferred into personal savings and investments, according to plans to the privatization of Social Security. The payroll taxes available to pay for individual accounts, on the other hand, are assets that are needed to cover current payments to survivors and disability insurance recipients, and also retirement programs. Simple math implies that for each $1 transferred from Social Security systems to individual accounts, the 37 % of recipients who are not retired employees would get a dollar less in guaranteed income.

The creation of private accounts might stifle economic development, putting Social Security’s funds in jeopardy. It was discovered that the state budget deficit would climb by more than 1% of the Gross domestic product each year for the next 20 years, with a maximum increase of 1.6 % of GDP in 2022 (Ramirez and Lewis 1028). According to Cooley and Soares in 2036, the national debt would be grown by a total of 23.6 % of GDP (740). That means that the debt load for each child, woman, and man will be 32,000 dollars greater in 32 years as a result of privatization (Cooley and Soares 735). Privatizing Social Security will significantly raise state debts and deficits, as well as the likelihood of a reduction in national savings.

Without protection from inflation, the purchasing power of seniors’ pensions would plummet during periods of high price increases. Since insurance firms would be exposed to large additional risks as a result of providing inflation coverage, they are likely to demand higher rates than the current 10 percent (Brown, et al. 31) For decades, the US nation has been properly served by current Social Security insurance safeguards. Diluting such safeguards in exchange for new accounts introduces a slew of new dangers while escalating the basically long-term issues that Social Security faces.

Works Cited

Brown, Jeffrey, et al. Social Security Bulleting, vol. 80, no. 1, 2020, p. 31.

Cooley, Thomas F., and Jorge Soares. Review of Economic Dynamics, vol. 2 no. 3, 1999, pp. 731-755.

Faradzhov, Samil. “Ensuring Social Security at the Level of Local Self-Government.” Reality of Politics. Estimates-Comments-Forecasts, vol. 15, no. 1, 2021, pp. 22-33.

Ramirez, Mark D., and Paul G. Lewis. Political Behavior, vol. 40, no. 4, 2018, pp. 1011-1034.

Excluding Health Insurance from Social Security Act

In the past, comparisons were drawn between United States and South Africa as the only industrialized countries that did not provide universal health care. However, current statistics show that United States is isolated in this respect. It is estimated that about 20% U.S. citizens lacks health insurance. Moreover, the level of disparity in this respect is higher than that of other countries.

Interestingly, United States boasts of the most advanced technology in health care services. It is therefore quite surprising that a good chunk of its population cannot access state of art treatment due to health insurance policies. Moreover, its elimination from Social Security act was catastrophic.

This paper will explore the effects of excluding health Insurance from Social Security Act. It will also ascertain how we could have changed our future in this respect (Morone, Litman & Robins, 2008, p. 16).

More than 45 Million Americans lack access to health care insurance of any kind. This number would be greater, save for government programs such as SCHIP and Medicaid, which provides a cushion for low-income families, especially children. This is mainly due to exclusion of health care insurance from Social Security Act.

Social Security act was amended in 1965 after its initial enactment in 1935. It was signed into law by former president Franklin Roosevelt. Its funds were deposited in Social Security Trust fund. This was to be made available for access after retirement.

President John Kennedy anticipated provision of health insurance to elderly through Social security Act reforms in 1962. This bill continued even after his assassination in 1963. It was passed in 1965. This was mainly aimed at providing health insurance to the elderly and unemployed.

However, it is quite important to note that nonelderly population was left out of the bill. This is because institutions like the Congress and medical industry such as American Medical Association opposed the move citing significant increase in social security expenditure (Vladeck, 2003, p. 16-19).

In essence, health insurance for nonelderly people in United States has been from their own pockets. This has placed great pressure on individuals since they have to pay for it themselves. Moreover, health insurance premium are very high causing people to live unsustainable lives as they struggle to pay for health insurance. It is also quite necessary to note that people lack access to quality healthcare because they cannot afford it.

To make it worse, United States has one of the best medical facilities globally. This is unacceptable as about 45 million non-elderly people struggle to access quality health care. Interestingly, some insurance companies have been found guilty of fleecing individuals of the high premiums by reneging on their tasks of providing quality health care.

Exclusion of health care from Social Security Act has also caused a big rift between the population and their government as they contemplate changes. In fact, health care reforms have been fore front in political limelight as Americans try to force their leaders into resolving this mess. Universal health care has been the desire of most American as they envision relief from the soaring insurance premiums (EBSCO Publishing, 2011, p. 1).

It would be important to reform Security Act by including an all-inclusive health care insurance. This would provide some cushion to the already burdening task of paying high insurance premiums with little expectations on medical industry.

Alternatively, the federal government should put in place a universal healthcare system that encompasses everyone with exception of the super rich who may want to access private health care systems. This would be for the good of American people since they are overburdened by insurance premiums (United States History, 2011, p. 1).

Reference List

EBSCO Publishing. (2011). An Overview of Medicare in the U.S. Web.

Morone, J., Litman, T., & Robins, L. (2008).Health Politics and Policy. Stamford: Delmar Cengage Learning. Print.

United States History. (2011). . Web.

Vladeck, B. (2003).Universal Health Insurance in the United States: Reflections on the Past, the Present, and the Future. American Journal of Public Health, 93(1): 16–19.

Social Security Act and Its Negative Impacts

Introduction

Due to civil and international pressure, modern nations tend to enact various laws that recognize and protect some rights of the civil society. In particular, the worker’s rights are important in modern economies (Williams, 2008). Although it is considered as socialism, most European nations lead to establishing and implementing social security acts within their jurisdictions. However, for the United States to copy this lesson from Europe and other areas, it is necessary to consider the foreseen and expected impacts of such legislation on the society and the economy. Arguably, social security act empowers people with rights to benefit, which help to reduce their economic productivity, increase wage demands and high levels of voluntary and involuntary unemployment. Therefore, social security act will be responsible for a reduced economic growth.

The negative impacts of social security

Social security funding is likely to produce negative impacts on the national economy in three major forms. First, it will provide social security funding to the unemployed and employed individuals. The unemployed people will benefit from social security funding, yet they do not contribute to its creation. In this way, the society will be divided into two groups such as the working group, which provides social security funding to the whole population, and the non-working group, which benefits from the working group (Russell, 2010). In this kind of society, high levels of advantages to the unemployed group will create social laziness. There will be a decline of the desire to search for employment and paid work because people are assured of social security.

Secondly, taxation system will be affected. In fact, social security benefits will entice people to resist paying taxes (Gregg, 2009). It has been shown that evasion and resistance to taxation are common in socialist societies because people feel assured of social security funding. The rate of wage demands, government deficits and inflations will increase rapidly. In this kind of society, economic crises and reduced industrial growth are common phenomena. A government that cannot collect enough taxes cannot meet the demands of its population.

Thirdly, a Social Security Act will ensure people with the rights to a benefit, which is likely to reduce their ability and willingness to save. Most people in nations that have weak social security funding are forced to save as much as possible. A society that does not have a saving culture is less likely to experience social and economic growth. In fact, the rate of investment and economic growth will reduce because people will be spending on unnecessary things, yet they are lazy and resistant to pay tax.

How can we cope with these problems?

To cope with these problems, it is necessary to ensure that the proposed Social Security Act is different from the current examples. For instance, it is necessary to provide social insurance benefits to the population, but also it is imperative to replace it with a negative income tax. Economic growth ensures that people are working and investing, which will give them the ability to take out private insurance against all those risks that social security funding would otherwise provide. It is important that the new legislation considers enticing people to take paid work in order to ensure that they take up private insurance.

Conclusion

The Act should only offer social security benefits to a small portion of the population, especially to the people with disabilities and other minority groups. In this way, the society will increase its economic productivity while still catering for the less fortunate people.

References

Gregg, S. (2009). Markets, Morality and Civil society. New York: Springer

Russell, B. (2010). The case for socialism. Mason, OH: Cengage learning

Williams, W. (2008). The entrepreneurship as American hero. Mason, OH: Mason University

Social Security as a Public Policy Problem in the US

The American social security system is said to crumble, and that today’s workers might actually fail to get pensions if the trend continues. As a result, policymakers and the general public agree that something should be done to save America’s retirement safety net. However, the social security system is not unique to America; most systems in the world, even in Europe, are facing the same problem. Others actually are in worse condition than America’s own.

But that should not be an excuse for delaying the improvement of the system. America has vital lessons to learn from countries that have successively pulled their systems from such problems. What is need is just political will among legislatures and taxpayers’ interest to have the coming generations retire well as generations have done since the national retirement safety net was established six decades ago.

This paper is an attempt to comb through possible solutions to this problem, including the use of institutionalism theory as a framework to designing a resolution. The paper is arranged in several sections that appear concurrently as follows: it first explains the social security issues as a policy problem, then extrapolates on some existing policy solutions, then lists potential solutions based on William Roth’s policy recommendations.

It will further list this author’s views on Roth’s theories and conclude by explaining how institutionalism could be used to create new foundations for the system. Overall, it holds that reforming the system is necessary for the country to secure safe retirement for many generations to come. Failure to do so will only compound the problem and risk the spillover of the system’s collapse to other sectors of the economy. Reforming the system is equivalent to doing justice for the generations of the nation that’s known for such actions.

Some Existing Policy Solutions

The most outstanding solution to the social security issues is the Roth IRA accounts, which enable individuals to open social pension accounts with a government-licensed pension scheme. Contributions to the account are completely tax-free; withdrawal of pensions during retirement is also guaranteed to be tax-free (Burt). This will include the accrued interest during the retirees’ working years, which could be in millions considering that interest will be compounding on contributions. This is a great shift from the current system where workers keep contributing to the government-controlled social security system that does end up providing living wage pensions. The government has a limit on maximum annual contributions that currently stand at $5,000 annually (IRA).

There has also been a talk of establishing private accounts for an individual. That is, workers will be left alone to choose how much they want to save for retirement annually and with which institution they would like to entrust their contributions. This call has caused an uproar from some quarters claiming that the poor might be left without a safety net, as institutions target the middle and upper classes (Walt and Carlson).

Private accounts are, however, understood to be the first step in resolving the crisis because they will relieve pressure off the system. This is the same procedure that was followed in Chile, a country that was the first to save its social security system from the problems that have crippled such institutions worldwide. Learning how such systems were streamlined to overcome challenges being faced in America will be the first step in saving the national safety net that has served the country for more than half a century.

Potential Solutions based on Roth’s Text

Roth puts emphasis on retaining the current system and for the sake of the poor because privatizing it will be tantamount to sacrificing the poor to the capitalist system that confined them to poverty. The writer actually sees corporations as vampires out to suck on workers’ energy in their corporations and yet contribute meager resources to their employees’ retirement safety nets. Therefore, Roth’s solution lies in increasing contribution from the corporation, which basically means increasing corporate share in employee retirement inputs.

Author’s Views on Roth Theories

The United States social security system was one of the New Deal programs established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the great American depression. Its aim was to provide working Americans with a medium to deposit monthly contributions, which they would later collect as pensions during retirement. Such a system is popularly referred to as pay-as-you-earn because contributions are deducted from worker’s paychecks. The state (US Government) designated itself as the sole custodian of the social security system with roles of investing the pooled funds in government bonds and paying out to retirees when the time came.

The first indication that social security would become a serious public policy problem was when the state decided to start distributing pensions to retirees who left the job market at the initial stages of the program. This meant that inaugural contributions were already being used to finance retirement; this is still continuing today. Some critics have even referred to the system as a legalized pyramid scheme because retired taxpayers’ pensions are sourced from new contributions by young workers, whose retirement will further be funded by the young workers of the day (O’Brien).

Another problem is that medical advances have increased longevity, which means that soon there will be more pension claims than there would-be contributors. This problem is further exacerbated by the decreasing fertility in the country that could lead to fewer people entering the job market in the near future. To solve the problem of a definite deficit in the system, the federal government will have to increase taxes on the fewer workers in the job market. This move could threaten America’s competitiveness internationally because of the increased cost for labor—higher taxes would force employers to increase pay rates so as to cushion employees against decreased incomes.

Using Institutionalism as a Policy Tool

Institutionalism refers to the use of public frameworks to ensure respectably and improving living standards for the disadvantaged people in the society (The Free Dictionary). This school of thought is gaining popularity in policy circles due to its emphasis on creating concrete foundations for establishing and reforming public institutions. In Regard to social security, institutionalism can be used to create a new foundation for the system.

It can, for instance, remove the mandatory requirement that workers contribute funds to the system, thus allow some flexibility in choosing ways to save for retirement. It can further be used to draft laws that will enable a smooth shift from the current system to a new one. Institutionalism will further be used to develop policies to govern individuals and entities that will be bestowed with the investing or controlling workers’ contributions.

American social security system is headed for collapse if it is not reformed forthwith. This would be a hard step because it would require a political solution that that’s hard to get bipartisan support from legislatures. It is vital to understand that some countries’ social security systems were in poor states than America’s own, yet reforms were undertaken; those systems have remained to be impressive successive stories. Studying those countries’ systems would form a great foundation to making American one work better and last to serve all classes of people and coming generations successfully.

The introduction of the Roth IRA accounts mentioned earlier in this paper is a good start in making sure that American’s retirement safety nets are solidly secured. The nation’s labor force, especially those joining it, should be encouraged to save in the system because funds are invested using secure criteria, let alone having access to professional advice.

References

O’Brien, George. It’s Time To End Social Security: Why the System is Bankrupt – and How We Can Replace It. 1998. International Society for Individual Liberty. Web.

Burt, Erin. . 2006. Web.

Internal Revenue Service. Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). 2007. Internal Revenue Service. Web.

Duka, Walt and Carlson, Elliot. 2002. Social Security Private Accounts Wouldn’t Be Cheap. AARP Bulletin. Web.

US Social Security vs. Canadian Social Security

Introduction

The increasing challenge posed by an increase in the elderly population creates the need to deploy social security services. Demographic patterns on the provision of social services are estimated to increase drastically in the future.

In the United States, the notable demographic trends that are likely to impose significant pressures on social security includes the anticipated retirement of the baby boomers cohort, a reduction in the fertility rates and increases in life expectancy are estimated to pose a large increase in the old-age dependency ratio (Feldstein & Liebman, 2002).

The main purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the United States with the Canadian social security system. The paper provides an overview of the United States and Canadian social security system, after which the paper discusses the objective similarities and differences between the two systems.

In addition the paper also provides a subjective analysis that is based on the current evaluation of the United States social security system against the Canadian system. Basing on the research, the paper provides recommendations for improving the United States social security system.

Introduction to the United States Social Security system

In the US, social security mainly involves the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) scheme that is administered by the federal government. Social Security in the United States was first adopted during 1935; subsequent amendments have resulted to the inclusion of social welfare and social insurance.

Major components of the United States social security also include the Supplemental Security Income, various unemployment benefits, offering aid to the needy families, grants issued to the states by the federal government for the purposes of Medical Assistance Programs (Medicaid), Health Insurance for the Aged and Disabled (Medicare) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Giles, 2005).

Social security in the United States is mainly financed using dedicated payroll taxes that are referred to as the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax. Social security in the United States is largely concerned with the benefits associated with retirement, unemployment, cases of disability, death and survivorship (Hyman, 2010).

Social Security in the United States is considered as the largest government program in the globe that takes a significant portion of the federal budget. In addition, social security is the biggest social insurance program in the United States. It is estimated that social security in the United States has helped to keep 40 percent of people aged over 65 years out of poverty.

Introduction to Canadian social security

Canadian social security comprises of approximately 2.3 percent of the Gross Domestic product, the Pay-as-you-go component Canadian social security is relatively small compared to the United States. Old Age Security (OAS) program is one of the core elements of elderly income transfers in Canada. The Guaranteed Income Supplement is used to increase the income levels for aged individuals in Canada.

Another important element of Canadian social security is the Canadian Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension plan, which are mainly funded by the joint monetary contributions from employers and employees. Canadians contribute 4.95 percent tax on their income from USD 3500 to USD 41000 (Orszag & Diamond, 2005).

Social security in Canada mainly involves the government programs that are adopted with the main objective of offering assistance to its citizens and covers diverse programs that are mostly run by the provinces.

In Canada, the social safety net is mainly concerned with the transfer payments that are directed at low income citizens only. It does not incorporate expenditures associated with healthcare services and education (Weisbrot & Baker, 2001).

Similarities between the United States and Canadian security services

In the US, social security denotes the funds that the individuals pay during their working life, which mainly comprises of the retirement benefits during old age. This is a similar approach under the Canadian social security that is implemented using the Canadian Pension Plan.

In the United States, employees contribute 5.65 percent of their earnings towards their social security and Medicare, which is used for offering medical insurance for aged and retired people.

The social security premiums in the US are capped at earnings of USD 106,800 while there is no capping of the premiums for Medicare (Hyman, 2010). Canadians contribute 4.95 percent of their total earnings towards the CPP. Socialized healthcare plan in Canada are somewhat similar to the Medicare program in the context of the United States (Orszag & Diamond, 2005).

Another similarity between the United States and Canadian social security systems is that they both make use of the pay-as-you-go scheme, although the United States system is relatively high compared to the Canadian system. Bo the social security systems can be considered to a hybrid between the PAYGO plan and a fully financed program (Hyman, 2010).

Differences between the United States and Canadian social security system

A notable difference between the two systems is the scope of coverage of social security. In this context, the Canadian social security system does not have provisions for education and healthcare expenditure, which are provided in the social security system in the United States (Giles, 2005).

The second difference between the two systems is that the United States expenditures on social security are relatively higher compared to the Canadian expenditure on social security. For instance, the Old Age and Survivors comprise of 6 percent of the United States GDP, compared to Canada that allocate 4.2 percent of its GDP. In addition, Canada spends relatively twice as much as the amount that the United States spends on unemployment benefits (Hyman, 2010).

Another difference between the two systems is that the CPP is a reserve fund that is invested in the market; this is contrary to the social security funds that are invested in government securities and bonds. Investing the CPP in the market resulted to 5 percent marginal difference between the returns in the United States and Canada.

Evaluation of current US system against the Canadian system

It is arguably evident that Canadian social security has a better establishment compared to the United States social security system. There is a potential that the Canada Pension Plan fund will grow since it is invested in the market, making significant contributions towards its future sustainability compared to the United States social security funds that are invested in government bonds.

Another reason that contributes to the effectiveness of the Canadian pension Plan when compared with the US social security system is that the benefits of the CPP are relatively lower compared to the benefits of the United States social security. The generosity of the United States social security questions its sustainability in meeting the future demands posed by the aging population (Weisbrot & Baker, 2001).

Recommendations to improve the United States social security system

Improving the efficiency of the United States social security requires the reinforcement of insurance and financing. With regard to insurance, it is important to maintain an appropriate balance in terms of social and individual responsibility.

With regard to financing, establishing a suitable balance between pre-retirement funding and the use of the common PAYGO method will serve to address the potential challenges imposed by the demographic trends in the United States.

References

Feldstein, M., & Liebman, J. (2002). The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Giles, C. (2005). US social security is among least generous. Web.

Hyman, D. (2010). Public Finance: A Contemporary Application of Theory to Policy. New York: Cengage Learning.

Orszag, P., & Diamond, P. (2005). Saving Social Security-A Balanced Approach. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Weisbrot, M., & Baker, D. (2001). Social Security: The Phony Crisis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Problematic Social Security and Ways of Solution

Introduction

Social security is an insurance program where workers pay when they are employed. Moreover, the employers pay a matching contribution to the programs. Therefore, social security’s guaranteed benefits are available to support workers and their families after retirement or after they lose their career due to disabilities or death of a breadwinner.

The social security program is one of the most successful insurance programs. However, lawyers, politicians, and even professionals who try to analyze the issue have misunderstood it. Therefore, this paper tries to explain and differentiate social security from a pension that is paid to support the income of retired employees because it is also designed to ensure and protect the families of the deceased workers.

Social Security issues

Social Security issues address a number of groups of people who include people with disabilities, retired employees, as well as the survivors. To start with, disability is a big issue of social security. There has been a challenge while trying to reach disabled people with the message of the benefits that they can get from social security (Seipel 69). Disability insurance is a social security program that was introduced to provide cash benefits to people with disabilities.

That is, it makes monthly reimbursement to individuals who are no longer able to do any job due to impairments, which are expected to continue for a year or which are likely to bring about the passing away of the individual. However, the benefits are based on a person’s preceding earnings. Even after lowering the amount that a person needs to pay to be eligible for the cover, the issue of poverty has been a limiting factor since many individuals find it hard to get extra coins to cater for that program.

Payments are made to the handicapped person together with the dependent family members. For an individual to be eligible for these benefits, one must have worked in jobs that are covered by social security schemes. This requirement is another issue that filters individuals who can benefit from the program. It means that many other disabled people cannot access it if they have not been in the job market to enroll for the scheme.

After successfully getting Disability Insurance (DI) for a period of two years, individuals then qualify for Medicare. The majority of people who benefit from this program have multiple disabling conditions. In fact, out of about ten million individuals who got disabled employee benefits at the beginning of 2012, 31 percent had cerebral impairments as the major disabling condition or principal diagnosis.

Despite the many complications that people encounter, in addition to their efforts to join the program, there is no follow-up to find out whether they have had satisfaction with it or not.

The second issue concerns the retired employees. Social security introduced the retirement insurance plan to take care of the retirees. It offers retirement application forms that an individual can fill through the internet. These forms can be accessed and filed online at the convenience of an individual. However, there is much delay when one waits for feedback on approval after providing the required details. The program provides a basis of the giving-up-work income that ex-workers complement with retirement funds and investments.

Benefits alone cannot provide a sufficient and comfortable level of living despite them being adjusted to about 1.7 percent to keep up with the cost of living (Lavery and Reno 43). Social security benefits are comparatively modest both in dollar amounts and in relation to retirees’ previous income. However, the benefits are significantly imperative for the households receiving them. About 90 percent of both married and unmarried persons of age 65 and above receive social security benefits as their main source of income.

However, reaching these people in a timely manner has been an issue. As such, they are ensuring consistency has been a burning challenge to social security since a one-time failure to cover the eligible individuals can be such a significant hitch to them.

The reason why social security is such a large portion of income is that most Americans above the age of 65 do not receive income from pensions, private employment, or from jobs in state or local government (Lavery and Reno 54). Besides, for the individuals who receive pension income, the amount is too minute to keep up with the price growth after retirement despite the presence of automatic cost of living adjustments.

The majority of individuals think that social security is only for retirement programs. It has been a challenge while trying to communicate the scope of services that one can get from social security. Very few people from rural areas lack even a hint about the existence of social security. There is a need to create awareness that social security also takes care of survivors who include people who are left by their parents when they die or are retrenched.

Social security helps by providing income to the children where their parents lose a career through death or incapacitation. Therefore, 98 percent of children can get benefits when their parents die. When an individual dies or loses a job, members of the victim qualify for survivor benefits. These members include the divorced, the deceased siblings, and the dependent parents. As an individual does the job and caters for social security levies, he or she gets acknowledgment towards social security reimbursement.

Therefore, the amount of time that individuals require to do the job on behalf of their households to qualify for social security survivor reimbursements is determined by their age during the death of the person. However, no individual is required to do the job for more than ten years to be appropriate for the program reimbursements (Dattalo 240).

Under an exemption decree, if an individual passes on after having done the job for only almost two years just before he or she is bereaved, reimbursements can be made to one’s kids and the party that takes the burden of raising them. In the case of separated couples, if a male partner passes on, the previous companion who has more than 60 years can enjoy the payback if the matrimony had been working for a decade or more.

One’s accumulated wages determine the total amount that relatives can receive from the program. This implies that the more an individual makes, the more the reimbursement. The maximum value an individual can get in terms of benefits per month is about 170 percent of the deceased’s benefit amount.

Wrong Decisions made by the US Government towards Social Security

Social Security is a complicated system that has forced many retirees to consider many options in order to establish the option that will maximize their lifetime benefits. However, the US government policymakers have made it difficult for individuals who try to appeal for various benefits.

For instance, if a person is claiming for social security disability plan, various unnecessary aspects are applied. For example, the probability of getting benefits increases with age. In fact, an individual with age of 55 is more likely to be listed for impairment in relation to a younger person.

The other aspect is the level of education of an individual. If an individual is more educated, the chances of getting benefits radically decrease. The assumption is that the higher the individual’s education, the more probable the person is able to work.

However, if an individual is not more experienced in a certain field of specialization, education is not a factor. This decision criterion is wrong because disability can arise to any individual regardless of whether he or she is skilled or unskilled, or educated or uneducated, thus making the victim unable to execute his or her duties (Lavery and Reno 56).

Another wrong decision made by the US policymakers is complicating social security, particularly among the married couples. It has been difficult for an individual to estimate clearly the benefits that one is eligible to receive. For instance, in case of divorced couples, where one spouse remarries the second or third, with all marriages ending up in divorce, the law is not clear on how much each ex-spouse will get from the deceased benefit.

However, only the ex-spouses who meet the 10-year threshold will benefit from the deceased survivor benefits. This criterion is wrong because the spouses may have children who need help. If their parents did not hold their marriage for the ten years, this decision works to the children’s disadvantage.

A taxon social security is another wrong decision made by the US policymakers. Depending on the social security level, an individual has to pay tax on the portion of one’s social security. The limit of individual benefits that are assessed for taxation is only 85 percent. This limit implies a loss of the revenues of the government. Therefore, it should ensure that this rate is adjusted to 100 percent.

Delaying the benefits for the retirees is a wrong decision. Many individuals are low-income earners. As a result, they may not have the patience to wait from the age of 62 to 70 to get their benefits adjusted to 76 percent for inflation. Therefore, it is approximately 2 percent of the individuals who have the patience to wait this long.

The retirement benefits should be provided to individuals immediately after retirement because a person may not be having other sources of revenues. At the age of 62, one may not be having the energy to work properly. However, taking the social security retirement benefits, this early is viewed as ignoring the fiduciary accountability to be concerned with the future.

Good Policies on Social Security

A social security Insurance program is the largest federal plan that pays more than $750 billion in total benefits to more than 56 million persons. Therefore, the program boosts both the economy of the country as well as the individual states where the benefits are enjoyed. When individuals buy goods and services using their social security benefits, they raise business sales, which eventually help both the firm and the companies supplying the products.

Social security has enormous impacts on the economy than even the dollar in its benefit payments. When the beneficiaries expend their monthly benefits, the effects always flow to the economy. Therefore, when these outcomes were analyzed, the economists came up with a model known as ‘the multiplier,’ which represents the rising effects of payments as they flow through the economy.

To understand how the plan works, one should first understand the role of social security to beneficiaries in addition to knowing how it supports personal consumption (Lavery and Reno 56).

Social security benefits are a source of income for many households. Particularly, the inflation-protected social security benefits constitute a guaranteed income for retirees and their families. Therefore, a good share of the unmarried people relies largely on social security benefits as compared to any other source of income. It is also a significant source of income for disabled employees, particularly those who enjoy disability benefits.

The benefits of social security are always paid regardless of the overall economy. In many cases, they end uprising during a recession. This event is significant for both the beneficiaries and the stabilizing influence of gradual economic recovery. During the recession, payments of benefits support consumption for the beneficiaries.

The fact that most of the beneficiaries spend all or most of their income is a great advantage to the economy through acquiring goods and services such as food, clothing, and health care. However, the tendency to spend from source income is known as the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) from income.

Therefore, the higher expenditure of the benefits among the beneficiaries causes a high impact on the economy because more dollars circulating in the economy. Age also affects the marginal propensity to consume. In fact, older people tend to have reached that stage in life where they spend down their assets as opposed to saving. They are generally assumed to have a greater propensity to consume in relation to the younger generation.

In the case of a multiplier, the process starts when beneficiaries use their social security benefits to acquire goods and services. For instance, a retiree uses part of one’s income to acquire goods from local merchants such as the hardware stores. These local merchants spend the revenue in paying their workers as well as buying more from their suppliers to stock their stores for future clients.

Therefore, these consecutive spending rounds make up a very successful social security in the economy. Tax revenues from social security are a major source of revenue to the centralized, state, and local regimes. The levies may take the form of revenue tax, trade duties, and asset taxes, which increase the income for the government.

Bad Policies on Social Security

A social security program faces bad policies that include running short of money. The program is also affected by so many variables that make it problematic for long-term projections. Data shows that social security is not in crisis by any chance. However, there is no law that requires it to contribute to the federal deficit. Social security cannot borrow. Therefore, it cannot pay benefits if it lacks the revenue to make up for them. This situation reveals the reason why social security cannot be used in the deficit reduction arrangement (Dattalo 238).

There are better returns through private investment. Various lawyers of personal retirement account options are advocating for employees to invest in private capital markets because they yield higher returns as compared to the current social security. Of late, this view has gained enormous acceptance among workers.

The social security program operates at a rate of return in theory. Taxes that are paid to the program by the present employees are not saved to cater for their future benefits. Instead, these sums are instantly paid for the benefits of the present retirees. Therefore, the future retirement benefits for the present employees will depend on the taxes paid by the following generation of employees.

The economic growth projections that were suggested by Mueller about social securities are inconsistent with the projections of the economy. The fact is that future returns can vary. They can be high or low since there is no basis of assuming that the results will be different by any chance (Skidmore 303). Generally, employees in the social security program lack assets or property rights to support their benefits. They end up relying heavily on the interplay of national politics for their benefits.

Therefore, some groups of beneficiaries might become politically unpopular, thus ending up suffering benefits cut-offs (Millar 67). There is the introduction of the transition tax to finance the new system. During the period when employees start paying to the personal accounts instead of social security benefits, one will successfully fund any deficit in social security benefits through increased taxes on employees and their retirement accounts.

The Reasons behind the Social Security Problems and their Causes

Lately, the social security program is running into problems since people currently have fewer children. Since the early 1960s, the birth rate has declined by about 30 percent. It had dropped from about three children per woman to two or three kids.

This situation has caused a major change to the population and distribution of a country. Consequently, it has led to fewer people who can work and/or produce goods and services while at the same time paying taxes to the social security in comparison with the majority of the retired workers who consume the benefits (Dattalo 242).

Age-dependency is another cause of problems in the social security program. The number of people in the social security of age 65 and above is relatively high in relation to the number of individuals in the social security between ages 20 to 64 who have the potential to work. The present level is about 20 percent. It is expected to increase to 35 percent by 2030.

The main causes of these disparities are due to the changing values, lifestyle, and/or the introduction of birth control pills. The future funding of the social security’s program lies in the revolutionary improvement of women’s ways of life.

Another cause is that several people rely heavily on social security finances for their retirement revenue. However, the intention of creating a social security scheme is to prevent older individuals from falling into poverty after employment. Therefore, it was not meant to provide a comfortable life for people. Conversely, 70 percent of retirees who rely heavily on social security is too high to be sustained (Dattalo 242). Besides, the regressive social security tax is 14 percent, regardless of the benefits of an individual.

An employee who makes $200,000 a year pays 7 percent while the one earning $500,000 only pays 3 percent. This type of tax system only makes poor people poorer while at the same time creating high disparities between the poor and the rich.

Solutions to improve the Issues of Social Security

It is apparent that the program keeps on losing significance to persons as time goes on. However, it is wise to take note that gets rid of the program while not sparing the levies that finance it will even make the situation unbearable to people. Since the government understands this fact, it has availed the program to provide a uniform income to older retirees. Therefore, few solutions have been postulated to allow the program to remain in place.

Increasing the Payroll Tax

For more than 70 years, increasing the payroll tax has been tried with no success. The fact is that it only postpones the problem while costing the government a lot of money in the short-term. Moreover, raising taxes cannot be a permanent resolution because deficiency of levy dollars is not the source of the problem. Worse, this concept does not amuse employees (Lavery and Reno 58).

Adjusting the Retirement Age

Rising the retirement age for the individuals has yielded economic hardships. For instance, increasing the age from the previous 65 years to 66 years has led to a reduction of benefits by about 6.5 percent. However, for individuals who have the patience to wait until 67, the loss is only about 14 percent. In addition, adjusting the retirement age intensifies income equality among the income groups (Skidmore 305).

The understanding is that life expectancy has increased, thus heightening the retirement age. It is also criticized in that it is biased with reference to individuals who fairly sacrificed to remit their money, but have to do the job for extra time to get the reimbursement.

Cutting down some Federal Spending Programs

Changing some centralized expenditures will assist in resolving the social security troubles through increasing its financial support. However, politicians have disagreed with this aspect mainly because altering a single department of government can make it unbearable for workers in that department. This situation only requires the social security fund to be self-independent.

Privatization of Social Security Program

Privatization of social security is still an idea that is being debated. However, it is yet to be put in place. This strategy remains the best idea to solve the problem of social security because individuals are given the options to decide how their money should be invested. However, while private investments seem advantageous, these returns are normally overstated in most of the cases (Skidmore 306).

Conclusion

For about 80 years ago, the social security program has paid financial benefits to qualified individuals and families in full and in a timely manner. Therefore, the social security plan has not only contributed to federal deficits but also the growth of the economy through the provision of benefits to retirees, disabled, as well as survivors. However, after having benefited from social security funds in terms of surplus, the government must ensure that it honors its promise of paying back the money so that the program can meet its target.

Therefore, the government must come up with a strategy to get the revenue that is required by either levying additional taxes or cutting from other programs. By making a few modest adjustments, social security can be on a solid footing for many years.

Works Cited

Dattalo, Patrick. “Borrowing to save: A critique of recent proposals to partially privatize social security.” Social work 52.3(2007): 233-242. Print.

Lavery, Joni, and Virginia P. Reno. Children’s stake in social security. London: National Academy of Social Insurance, 2008. Print.

Millar, Jane. Understanding social security: issues for policy and practice. New York, NY: The Policy Press, 2009. Print.

Seipel, Michael. “Social Security: Strengthen Not Dismantle.” Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 40.3(2013): 69-84. Print.

Skidmore, Max. “Social Security and Its Discontents: A Review Essay.” Poverty and Public Policy 5.3(2013): 301-307. Print.

American Social Security Policy Evaluation

Social security policy in the U.S. that is aimed at enhancing the life experiences of retired populations often faces criticism from the wide public, legislators, and press. Such a fundamental and complex system of welfare requires constant examination and assessment using social research methods, which should ensure its development and proper functioning (Rossi, Lipsey, & Freeman, 2003). In this essay, the key concepts of program evaluation will be applied to the social security policy of the U.S in the framework of such domains as program justification, design, implementation, outcomes, and efficiency.

The Need for the Program

Protection of vulnerable populations is one of the key agendas in the welfare state to which the U.S. aspires. After 65 years of age, a person’s physical and mental capabilities usually dwindle so that self-sufficiency of such individuals also diminishes. Due to the fact, that most of their lives, they contributed meaningfully to the state’s economy, social life, and other aspects of citizenship, the nation protects them when they are no longer capable of contributing by labor (Kitao, 2014). Thus, social justice seems to substantiate the need for social security policy.

Program Design

The design of the social security policy seems to be not without its flaws. As such, Konish (2018) argues that the funds of social security could be used more effectively if its design allows for more liberal investment policy. In Canada, for instance, social security funds are used to finance assets and gain profits from such an activity. In addition, there are accounts of private pension funds lacking liquidity for servicing current liabilities due to financial mismanagement. Thus, the issue of control and degree to which the freedom of fund usage should be allowed persists with the social security policy.

Program Implementation

Implementation of the program also seems to be problematic in certain aspects. Siedle (2013) suggests that among Americans nearing pension age, there are 75% of those who have less than $30,000 in savings under the retirement plan. It appears that there persists an insufficiency in funding as the percentage of the aging population grows. Social security numbers that are used in the system of individual identification are also subject to fraudulent schemes and theft. Actions of criminals caused misfortune to thousands of stakeholders and millions of dollars in damage (Van Vlasselaer, Eliassi-Rad, Akoglu, Snoeck, & Baesens, 2016). Therefore, the implementation domain requires intervention as well.

Program Outcomes

With all its flaws, the social security policy helps many retired families stay above the poverty line. Kitao (2014) argues that pension programs and disability insurances allow citizens to have increased confidence in the future. Yet, there is also a controversy of the uneven nature of collection and distribution, which increases social segregation (Kostøl & Mogstad, 2011). While this is indeed a threatening concern, without social security, vulnerable populations would be more likely to lead poor lives.

Program Efficiency

About 68 million people in the U.S. receive material help under the policy, the majority of whom are elderly (Social Security Administration, 2019). According to Romig (2018), thanks to social security, the poverty rates among pension-age individuals reduced by 40% and in all ages combined by almost 20%. People of color, low wage earners, disabled and other populations insecure in one or another way, have a chance to lead normal lives thanks to governmental protection.

Conclusion

Overall, the social security policy seems to have a strong impact on the economy and social life in the U.S. Evaluation of this social intervention demonstrated certain issues such as fraud protection, fund usage, tax collection equality that need addressing. However, the confidence in the future and poverty protection the policy gives to insecure populations characterizes it positively and explains the need for its existence.

References

Kitao, S. (2014). Sustainable social security: Four options. Review of Economic Dynamics, 17(4), 756-779.

Konish, L. (2018). . CNBC. Web.

Kostøl, A. R., & Mogstad, M. (2011). How financial incentives induce disability insurance recipients to return to work. Web.

Romig, K. (2018). . Web.

Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2003). Evaluation: A systematic approach. New York, NY: SAGE Publications.

Siedle, E. (2013). . Web.

Social Security Administration. (2019). Monthly statistical snapshot, January 2019. Web.

Van Vlasselaer, V., Eliassi-Rad, T., Akoglu, L., Snoeck, M., & Baesens, B. (2016). Gotcha! Network-based fraud detection for social security fraud. Management Science, 63(9), 3090-3110.