Problem Solution Essay

Zarik House
C. Srygley
English IV
4 March 2011
Problem Solution Essay

Social Security: Will it be there when I retire?

"Social Security...is not a dole or a device for giving everybody something for nothing. True Social Security must consist of rights which are earned rights -- guaranteed by the law of the land." (Harry Truman August 13, 1945) When it first started, Social security had been for elderly citizens’ benefits, but now it is also for people with disabilities. The earlier you begin taking your benefits, the smaller the amount you get. The full retirement age is 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954. For those born before 1943, the full retirement age is a bit younger, and for those born after 1954 the full retirement age is a bit older. America spent over 75 billion dollars on benefits for just the long-term unemployed last year. However, more money has been coming out of the program than going in. The money for social security is running out due to Medicare and Medicaid, hospitals, and the amount of people in the work force.
Medicare and Medicaid are benefits from social security. This means that all the money that goes into social security goes towards health programs for people and families with low incomes and resources and health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria. This is very bad considering how much hospitals are charging for surgeries in today’s society. Most surgeries for elderly citizens cost Medicare half a million dollars. This takes away from people’s retirement funds.
"The Social Security program plays an important part in providing for families, children, and older persons in times of stress. But it cannot remain static. Changes in our population, in our working habits, and in our standard of living require constant revision." (John F. Kennedy June 30, 1961) The more people that work and retire, means the more money that gets put into social security. This goes for just about all jobs except the government ones. For example, teachers have their own retirement plan and their jobs only go towards Medicare. However, government officials’ money goes toward their retirement plan only and not to Medicare or Medicaid.
Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration, had three simulations on how much the economy needed to do to get the economy back on track. She said that a recovery package would cost about 600 billion dollars, 800 billion dollars, or 1.2 trillion dollars. What the government needs to do is reduce benefits and money to doctors and hospitals and increase people in the work force. However, America has lost over eight million jobs over the course of the great recession, and unemployment went far higher than it had been predicted to.
"We must begin by insuring that the Social Security system is beyond challenge. [It is] a vital obligation each generation has to those who have worked hard and contributed to it all their lives." (Gerald R. Ford February 9, 1976) The best way for social security to be fixed is by putting more citizens into the work force. The more people that are working in America, means the more money that goes into the social security program for the citizens. Doctors and hospitals having high surgery costs for elderly and special needs citizens will take a great amount of money from the program. However, if there were more people working and less people unemployed, then there would be more money for the program and more money for the citizens when they retire.
Social security is can be very beneficial for the citizens that retire. With all the money that is going towards Medicare and Medicaid and all the people that don’t work, the retiring citizens won’t get as much money back as they should. The money for social security is running out due to Medicare and Medicaid, hospitals, and the amount of people in the work force. If more people worked and doctors lowered the prices for surgeries and medicine, then social security might still be around when I retire.


Works cited
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