Social Security In America

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The Social Security Act was adopted in 1935, which regulated unemployment and retirement programs. “The United States was a relative latecomer in covering its employed workers with compulsory old-age insurance, and perhaps, for this reason, it is not surprising that the U.S. program was largely inspired by continental European models, particularly the German example, in the 20 or more years preceding its adoption” (Hoskins (2010, pg. 79). Social Security has become essential for many Americans; many look forward to this time in their lives. This act helps Americans over the age of 65 to retire with a fixed income. Throughout the years Social Security has been modified and amended to correlate with new ages. This paper will discuss how Social …show more content…
The committee was in charge of analyzing the need for a social security system that can provide assistance to those elderly or disabled. During this time period, “Many employees could not meet their financial obligations (e.g., housing expenses and food) daily, and most employees could not retire because they were unable to save enough money to support themselves in retirement” (Martocchio, 2011). When Social Security was implemented it was based on payroll tax contributions from employers. Then the law changed to benefit children under the age and the spouse of the retired employee. This law assisted a variety of people, which started with monthly benefits for those over the age of 65 and retired. “The Social Security Act also provided unemployment insurance, grants to states for medical care, aid to dependent children, and unemployment insurance” (King & Cecil, 2006). The purpose of this act, when envisioned by Roosevelt was to safeguard that the elderly, those without jobs, or disabled could still sustain a …show more content…
This would cause a lot of controversy and disagreement because most people do not want to have to work longer in order to retire. This could work but it could also mean that people who do not want to work past 65 will just stop working and then be struggling to support themselves. Another solution that has been discussed over the years is privatizing Social Security. Currently, people who pay into Social Security are guaranteed to get a monthly paycheck after retirement, but if it is privatized the tax money would be invested into private investment accounts. With these investments accounts, there could be interest accumulated which means more money for the retiree. The issue with privatizing Social Security is that if poor investments occur, the money would be lost. Therefore, this idea would only work if it were “possible to maintain a portion of SSA taxes to provide a minimum income guarantee in the changes that the market were to take a downturn” (Pollard,