U.S. Social Security
The U.S. Social Security system is administered by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It was without doubt one of the "hottest" topics under consideration in U.S. presidential election, 2004 for America's ever-growing aging population, particularly the Baby Boom generation.
In early 2005, the Bush administration began in earnest its campaign to achieve U.S. Social Security privatization. This is because Social Security is going bankrupt. The federal government's largest spending program, accounting for nearly 22 percent of all federal spending, faces irresistible demographic and fiscal pressures that threaten the future retirement security of today's young workers. According to the 2003 report of the Social Security system's Board of Trustees, in 2018, just 14 years from now, the Social Security system will begin to run a deficit. That is, it will begin to spend more on benefits than it brings in through taxes. Anyone who has ever run a business--or balanced a checkbook--understands that when you are spending more than you bring in, something has to give--you need to start either earning more money or spending less to keep things balanced. For Social Security, that means either higher taxes or lower benefits.
But even if Social Security's financial difficulties could be fixed by raising taxes or cutting benefits, the system would still need to be reformed because it is a bad deal for most Americans. Social Security simply costs too much and pays too little. Social Security's rate of return on payroll taxes is dismal (about 2 percent) and declining. Workers deserve a retirement system that will make the most of their money.
SourceWatch resources
- Alliance for Retirement Prosperity
- Bush administration
- Congressional Budget Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Freedom of Information Act
- Health Care
- Medicare
- Office of Management and Budget
- State of the Union 2003
- State of the Union 2004
- U.S. budget deficit
- U.S. National Debt
- U.S. prescription drug system
- U.S. Social Security privatization
- U.S. tax cuts
- U.S. unemployment
- Veterans benefits
External Links
- Edmund L. Andrews, "Clamor Grows in the Privatization Debate," New York Times, December 17, 2004.
- Stuart Butler and Peter Germanis, "Achieving a 'Leninist' Strategy," Cato Journal, vol. 3, no.2 (Fall 1983). This document lays out in detail the right wing's long-term strategy for Social Security privatization.
