Privitization Essay -- essays papers

Privitization Every working American citizen contributes to Social Security. Anyone who has ever held a job has felt the frustration of seeing how much money the government takes out of their paycheck. Being told that we will all be able to collect social security when we can no longer work does not ease the frustration of having 6.2% of our hard earned money taken from us each payday. If individuals could have control of their retirement funds, this frustration could be eased. Being able to control our own retirement funds is an option that is being supported more and more by American workers. Currently, nearly 44 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. Of these 44 million, 61% are retired workers, 17% are survivors of deceased workers, 12% are spouses and children of retired workers, and 10% are disabled workers. Obviously, the major group of Social Security Beneficiaries is retired workers. Since the number of working Americans has not grown along with the number who are retiring, Social Security has become a black hole to the current generation of workers. We will pay into it most of our lives, but will not be able to collect unless a drastic change is made. Everyone has heard the ongoing debate over the past few years about what should be done to reform Social Security. The Social Security Board of Trustees estimates that by the year 2032, Social Security funds will be fully spent. There are several reasons for this, including the retirement of the â€Å"baby boom† generation and the assumption that the U.S. economy will grow at a slower rate than it has been. While republicans and democrats fight over whose plan is better, there is a simple alternative to Social Security: privatization. By making social security a private matter for individuals, everyone can benefit. One of the plans the government is considering includes partial privatization, but it is still centered around a flat tax deducted from the paychecks of American workers. The idea of Social Security is a good one. There are many retired workers who would not make it without Social Security. I have seen it myself. My mother has been in banking for more than 20 years, and during that time I have seen all kinds of people coming in to deposit their Social Security checks. The majority of them are middle class, retired workers, a... ...s. Since 1996, they have received an average annual rate of return of more than 14%. There are some who would argue that too many people might make poor investment choices, and end up going to the government for assistance upon retirement. There is no sure guarantee that this would never happen; however, this has not happened in Chile, Galveston, or San Diego. The purposes of mutual funds is to make a profit with very little risk. By investing into these and other low-risk programs, there is very little chance of people making poor choices that leave them with nothing. The simple fact is that privately owned retirement accounts would produce an income much greater than Social Security provides, and we wouldn’t have to face the problem of running out of money. Real life programs like the ones in Chile, Galveston, and San Diego show how successful Social Security privatization can and would be if only the government would give us the freedom to choose how to protect our future. The current system has failed. It’s just a matter of time until Social Security is bankrupt. It is time for the government to let the people decide how to provide for their own futures.