Social Security: Will It Be Overhauled?
It’s the elephant in the room – social security benefits. Estimates differ and vary widely, but they tend to agree on one thing – the social security program as we know it is unsustainable and needs an overhaul. But what can be done? And how will it be paid for?
Currently, workers pay money in to the social security system. These funds are to be invested by the government. But in reality, many see social security funds as being wasted, rather than invested. What will happen to social security if the dollar weakens, or if the U.S. economy were to crash altogether?
Other problems with social security include what many see as a basic flaw: the system promises to pay out more money than is put into the system, and the fact that participation in social security is mandatory in the first place. But politics and reality being what they are, a major overhaul of the system is not likely to occur anytime soon – especially if higher taxes are being considered to pay for the overhaul.
With consumers hurting from the recession, they would be after congressional blood come election time. And Congress knows it.
So all this talk and any talk of real social security reform might very well be just that – talk, and nothing more. It’s an extremely complex and tough issue. But an issue simply can’t go away. Officials claim that the Social Security system will be broke if action is not undertaken to shore up and additionally revamp the existing system.
One issue is that because of advances in medicine and technology, Americans are simply living longer now than they were 50 years ago. Therefore more people are drawing from the system than ever before. But clearly something needs to be done. Former President Bush was correct in pointing out that without an overhaul of the existing system, “…drastically higher taxes, massive new borrowing, or sudden and severe cuts in Social Security benefits or other government programs” would be necessary.
The final word for this story we will leave to Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), “At the end of the day, most Americans would embrace a balanced solution that did not require Draconian impact. They are ready to make some hard decisions for the benefit of future generations. If there were ever a time to do it, it’s now.”
