Social Security At 90

Social Security is a core portion of many Americans' retirement plans. It has been a part of American life for almost a century, but the problems with the program mount.The Social Security program recently turned ninety years old and those who depend on it live longer than ever. The program has consistently produced a deficit and accounts for one of the top Federal budget items. It requires roughly 1.49 trillion in funding, but only produces 1.42 trillion in income according to the SS Board of Trustees. In addition to the previous points, the funds are poorly managed and easy to repurpose as slush funds. The Department of Government Efficiency recently found over 12 million registered to the program over the age of 120. 120 is an age only one confirmed woman and no men have ever been recorded to reach. On top of all of these previous problems is that the program is predicted to collapse near 2035.

Just five years after its inception, Social Security possessed a workers to beneficiaries ratio of 160 to 1. This number that has declined exponentially to 2.8 to 13 in 2024. The reason for alarming decline mostly relates to a longer living, slower growing population. Fertility and birth rate are found declining even as the average life expectancy and age increases. Another issue with the program, brought to the surface recently through the efforts of the DOGE, includes the fraud of illegal immigrants and clearly fake or deceased accounts. A policy in the Biden Administration allowed for noncitizens to receive social security numbers explaining a part of this problem. Other cases with fake accounts appear to be more of a bureaucratic problem than actual fraud, but if even half of those accounts received payouts in the previous year the cost is roughly 12 billion per year. A massive and unnecessary sum for taxpayers to cover.

Social security has a certain number of problems but a myriad of ways of fixing them. Here are some common solutions:

1. Social Security operates by taxing income up to a maximum limit. Raising the maximum limit to be paid could prolong the program.

2. Policymakers could simply increase the percentage of taxes paid to social security by 25%. In theory, this should cover all deficits for a set amount of time.

3. A solid solution could be lowering benefits. The most unpopular solution, but a valid one.

4. The program could be left to run dry and the benefits already paid for will have to come from some other source.

5. Raising the retirement age for a set group of people would be effective and face lower resistance than other fixes especially if aimed at people with ages 20-35.

6. Another solution is to completely reform the program. Shifting from government mandated retirement to government recommended investment. You could also move the books to a private organization to minimize corruption.

My personal solution is most similar to number six. Social security is broken and can no longer be trusted to provide a safety net for the elderly and disabled. Social Security should be slowly phased out and be replaced by a program similar to a Roth IRA. Some of the strongest incentive tools the government has are taxes. Currently many tax loopholes, while accessible to all, are far more known to the rich. By opening up the possibility of tax free retirement funds, you can encourage smart money management and retain the previous safety net. Disability and survivor social security would be injured by this change. A solution to this could be shifting their benefits over to a new program, perhaps with the establishment of a similar federal investment program for charities and churches.

In final thoughts, we that are well and able bear a particular responsibility to those that are not. Especially for the Christians among us, honoring our fathers and mothers, supporting widows and the poor is of particular relevance and responsibility. However, the current system is broken and requires extensive reform.