1995-1996 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest
Social Security In The Twenty-First Century
Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
Teacher: Pamela Bramlet
1st
Bradley Gidcumb
2nd April Mayhall
3rd Misty
Jones
"Another problem is people taking advantage of benefits. Social Security is based
on a theory that society as a whole has an obligation for at least the minimum welfare of
its participants and should provide some means of safety and protection. It has never been
meant to fully pay for a person's retirement, but merely to provide help. People are
expected to save on their own, not to rely solely on the government."
Bradley Gidcumb, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"There are five general difficulties with Social security today; the program is
expected to run out of money, people are living longer today than in past years, people
take advantage of the program, people are not paying income tax on Social Security, and
the cost-of-living benefits are increased."
Christy Wilson, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"When the benefits were first made in the thirties, they were developed for that
time period. Now, sixty years later the benefits need to be modified. Back in the thirties
people were given more money. . . because there were less people that received the
funding. Now more people are poor. . .and living longer which is making the plan run out
of money fast. Benefits might need to start becoming more difficult to receive. More
people means less jobs and less jobs means more poverty."
Kevin Towery, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Food stamps are a big part of social security. It is a social program, which if
one qualifies, then one may obtain benefits. Stories on TV magazine and talk shows have
shown the down fall of the food stamp program. Some people of course do benefit from this
program, but do we really need such a program? One may wonder about the point of food
stamps when someone watches them being abused like they are. It has been shown on
documented film and on paper that some people have violated the system by defrauding it.
There is an entire under-ground of these stamp dealers who are trading stamps for cold
hard cash. This cash in turn, can be sued by these violators as their minds see fit. this
may be for drugs, food, or alcoholic beverages."
Mike Beal, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"The problem is that most people are not capable enough to discipline themselves
in financial areas."
Rachel Davis, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Social Security is a major drain on the economic system."
Mike Beal, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"It has less value today than when it was first proposed; the benefits are
small."
Traci Gibbons, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Too many people have seen social security as an income, other than as a helping
hand. Prolonged use is not healthy for any governmental system."
Mike Beal, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"People are now living between 75 and 83, which is too long as far as Social Security is concerned.
Sometimes a little hardship on each individual's part will make a stronger economy and
country possible."
April Mayhall, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"People that are living longer bring trouble to Social Security."
Misty Jones, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"In the United States the tradition of self-reliance delayed development of social security. Since the times of this wonderfully efficient program [social security] that helped so many people, many problems have arisen.
Anytime Social Security is brought up in Congress elderly Americans become offensive
making it all but impossible to pass [reform]. Congress looks sadly upon spending money
that does not urgently need to be spent. It has also come to the public's attention that
wealthy citizens receive more money, even though others are more in need."
Jayson Hafford, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"One reform idea is to make everyone put away money in a special account. When a person reaches the ages of twenty-one, seven percent should be taken from his/her paycheck and put into a special bank account in his/her name. That way, each person can save for his/her own retirement while drawing interest on the money paid in the bank. This money would be tax deferred, permitting it to build to a substantial sum. When they reach retirement age, the money may be withdrawn. This is the money they will spend during their retirement years. It is now taxable income, and the government will be entitled to withhold income taxes, Social Security Tax, and other related taxes. The government will increase its income substantially. Two advantages of this reform are that each person is being treated equally, no one individual receiving special treatment, and the government is saving money. One disadvantage is that people are giving up seven percent of their spendable income. Another disadvantage is the inability for people to manage their money. The money put into the account will not be personally managed, but managed by the government or some other form of investment adviser.
A second complication with Social Security is that people are living longer today than
in past years. It is growing because the population is getting older. Because the
population is growing older, more people are entitled to benefits. Most people do not pay
taxes on their Social Security."
Christy Wilson, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"My solution would be to slightly increase the Social Security funds taken out of
each check. I realize that a lot of people will disagree with this suggestion, but in the
long run, this extra money will stabilize the system until the current overpopulation of
elderly recipients goes down. After that those currently paying will get the benefits
later when they realize and Social Security has settled down; the abundance of money will
replenish the funds lost in debt, and the system will stabilize."
Arkeym N. Young, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Everyday, more and more people are taking advantage of social security. People
who are able to work do not work so they can receive funding. People also retire at early
ages to receive funding. Again we see that making benefits harder to receive might be one
of the answers to reform."
Kevin Towery, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"The best solution is to abandon the idea that 'social insurance' is a proper
government function and privatize Social Security. Social security could be replaced with
'super IRA's'. Some of the financial problems can be solved by changing [to] a completely
funded system of private savings."
Traci Gibbons, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Maybe just have cut backs and give less to all of the elderly and let their kids who have jobs take care of them. Yes, there is quite a bit of burden on the children of these elderly people, but as I see it parents have taken care of their kids for years. I believe in the old saying, 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.' In other words after having our parents take care of us for the first eighteen to twenty years of our lives, we should see to it that there is someone to take care of our parents for their last eighteen to twenty years. Another good thing about this is that our parents would be happier with us taking care of them. I believe that family members are uncomfortable when other people are taking care of them because they think that their children don't care.
Medicare is a very difficult subject. If they take away from one group of people, they
get mad, and the people who get to keep their benefits are happy. There is no way they can
make everyone happy all of the time. Some reforms are to raise the retirement age, make
sure people get back the money they give into Medicare, re-evaluate the people who receive
benefits, and maybe have children take care of their parents for once. Medicare is a very
difficult subject and who knows if all of the problems will ever get worked out. I have
given my two cents worth and said what I believe some reforms are that would maybe help
out a little on the problems of Medicare."
Tory Teckenbrock, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"The advantages of a tax increase would be more money available to pay out as
benefits and a better standard of living for Social Security beneficiaries. The
disadvantages to this would be the reaction of the taxpayers and less money for them to
have at the time the taxes were collected."
Bradley Gidcumb, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"The most compelling solution for reform would be to add a payroll tax. .
.because it would help increase money flow throughout the nation and quite possibly
stabilize the Social Security fund. The need for further tax increases or cuts in benefits
for the future would be eliminated. There are not enough tax payers to fully support
Social Security, therefore if we place a tax on payrolls. . .more money and more benefits
would be issued."
Brittney Billman, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Citizens who make over 35,000 dollars a year should have a reduced amount of
Social Security, those making under 35,000 dollars a year should have top priority over
Social security and its major benefits. . . . A downfall to this would be that the people
who worked for their hard earned money will not receive as many benefits when they are
retired. Reform would not seem fair to give less benefits to the people who paid most into
Social security to begin with."
Brittney Billman, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Wealthy Americans eligible for the program are receiving their share although
they do not need it and could survive without it. . . . If people who do not need these
benefits receive them, they are in fact robbing. . .the people who do need the benefits to
survive. [Wealthy] citizens could give up a portion of their benefits for those more in
need. But by denying any eligible person benefits once can only wonder about the
unconstitutionality of these actions. Either way, money could and should be reserved for
families more in need of these benefits."
Jayson Hafford, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"The second dilemma with Social Security is that although one has to be at least
65 to receive compensation, everyone's eligible for it, including those who don't need it.
This also applies to some millionaires and billionaires who definitely wouldn't need this
money when they retire. I think that if the system spent this money on others more needy
of it, then it wouldn't be wasted on those who just collect it. Of course this isn't true
for all cases, but overall it would make Social Security a more fair system. One more
argument against this proposal is the social dilemma that the system may be discriminating
against the rich, but let's be realistic; this would not be discrimination, it's merely
giving money to those who need it the most. . .After all, I think it's safe to assume that
a retired blue-collar worker would need $13,000 a year more than a millionaire."
Arkeym N. Young, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Another option is limiting benefits of higher income retirees. Those retirees who
receive benefits from sources other than Social security should naturally be limited on
how much benefits they receive. Those in desperate need don't feel that it's fair to cut
Social Security to the point where they can't afford to buy medicine, or eat properly;
when others receive the same benefits and do not have the need that they do. By limiting
Social Security benefits there would be more money left for future retirees."
April Mayhall, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"The most compelling problem in Medicare is that it is given to people who planned
adequately for their retirement and do not really need it. These people have plenty of
money to buy all their medication, doctor bills, etc., the government does not require a
minimum financial level for the people on Medicare. This I feel takes funding that could
be increased for those who really need it so they can at least get out poverty level,
which is where many of the elderly are today. A way to fix this could be to limit those
who get Medicare by providing it to those who need it the most. The pros to limiting who
gets Medicare are: there will be more money to give to the more needy, and the government
will not have to spend as much on as many people. The cons are: many people will be upset
if they get cutback, and a committee will have to be made to carry out the plan."
Paul W. Roberson, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"In society today it is almost impossible to have a scam proof organization. This
is a problem in Medicare. It would be simple for someone to come into a nursing home with
a great sounding plan for the elderly to receive great things such as wheelchairs,
walkers, etc. from them for low costs, then when they get the persons social security
number they can go and take the money from the person's Medicare program. Also the doctors
can charge large fees for their services, and since Medicare only pays a portion of it the
elderly get stuck with the rest of the bill. A solution to this problem would be, monitor
it more closely, warn the elderly to be more observant of fraud, and make the penalty for
fraud very sever. The pro's are: less money will be stolen and less people will be
exploited. The cons are: a monitoring program will have to be funded and people will have
to be employed into the program."
Paul W. Roberson, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Prior to age seventy, there are restrictions on the payment of benefits. For
example a person under seventy who earns in excess of $11,280.00 annually will be
penalized one dollar of Social Security income for every three dollars of earning. This is
an incentive not to work to earn money. This seems un-American to me after being taught
all my life that we have a duty to work, earn a living, and produce for our employer. One
reform option is to let the people work and earn as much as then can without forfeiting
any of their Social security. One advantage is that it lets people earn more money.
Another advantage is that the individual pays more in taxes to the government, so the
government earns money. One disadvantage of the reform is that the older people staying in
the workplace would make it difficult for the younger generation to find employment."
Christy Wilson, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"It seems that the cost of living is constantly increasing, but Social security
rates stay constant. . . .The rates one receives do not increase proportionally with the
increase in the cost of living."
Jayson Hafford, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois
"Another of the problems with social security is that many of the people receiving
benefits do not really need them such as people who have made a vast amount of money by
saving. These people are taking money away from those who need it but the government does
not move to stop them. My solution to this is to conduct a financial survey of all social
security and those who have managed to save a fixed amount of money will not be allowed to
receive social security. This would save money and at the same time it would let those who
need more money get it. The main problem with this solution is that it could be considered
a very communistic and rejected be most of the population."
Brian Casteel, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Illinois