Thanks to President Trump, entitlements are being rolled back. Conservative policies are being put in place that will limit how much the government hands out.
But there is one entitlement program that continues to be a problem. During the campaign, Trump promised not to touch Social Security. Yet the program only grows. The number of workers paying into the program can barely keep up.
Unless major reforms are made, Social Security will be too expensive to maintain. But will Trump act?
From CNS News:
The number of Social Security beneficiaries hit a record 61,859,250 in November, according to data released by the Social Security Administration.
At the same time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with unemployment at the lowest rate since 2000 (4.1 percent), there were 126,827,000 full-time workers in the United States (including government workers). Yet that equaled only 2.05 full-time workers for each person receiving Social Security benefits.
Even when all 153,918,000 people who had jobs in November are considered (counting both full- and part-time workers), the ratio of workers to Social Security beneficiaries was about 2.49 to 1…
The trustees’ report estimated that the Social Security program faces a $12.5 trillion shortfall over 75 years.
“Through the end of 2091, the combined funds have a present-value unfunded obligation of $12.5 trillion,” said the report.
People believe they earned Social Security. That they “paid into” it over the years. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The money taken from your decades of work was used to pay for Social Security at the time. The pay you will receive when you retire? That comes from young people who are only entering the job market.
It’s the classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The government never had a long-term plan for Social Security. The FDR-era policy was simply a fleece to get the man elected. Like most liberal programs, they never planned too far ahead.
Now we are faced with a massive burden. Americans who retire expect that income. Some will rely on it. But they were lied to. The money they paid into Social Security was spent years ago. Will they get anything for their years of labor?
Perhaps an alternative is needed. What if we get rid of SS and let people put that money into their own retirement accounts? That way they choose how the money is used. Sounds simple enough.
But of course, that will injure the many people retiring today. People who did not have a chance to save.
What do you think? How can Trump save Social Security? Is there anything that can be done to ensure the right people get their benefits?
Source: CNS News
