Privatizing Social Security.

Essay by LiddlenikkiUniversity, Bachelor'sA, May 2003

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

Downloaded 95 times

There are many people who still don't understand how the Social Security system in this country really works. Most people think that each individual person has a private account. They believe, that when the social security tax gets taken out of their paycheck it goes directly and solely into that private account, where it grows and continues to grow until that person finally retires, and that's where their social security retirement money comes from. Such accounts don't and have never existed, although many feel that creating these types of accounts for each individual tax payer would make the distribution of funds more fair to those who, over the years have contributed more to the tax on account of better paying jobs.

If social security were privatized then the individuals would have a greater control over the funds. The government would still play a big role in the controlling interest just to make sure that the kinds of accounts that were being set up, so as to prevent fraud or abuse.

One of the reasons that people who are pro-privatization use is that in doing so it will increase private savings. Of course the retiree would then be responsible for investing that money himself or herself. Right now the public pays 5.0 percent of their pay to social security, if privatization was instituted then people would receive, instead of a 5.0 percent, they would receive a 5.5 percent return on their social security. By doing this people would in fact receive a higher return.

The problem with the government is that they are over-compensating numbers as to convince the people that social security will always be there for them, and this is not the case. because of the "baby boomers" generation, who place an "unbearable burden on the Social Security system...