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48 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What happened to poverty rates in 1975?
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Poverty of people under 18 became higher than those who were over 65.
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What happened to poverty rates in 2014?
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Those 65 and older had the lowest percent of poverty, those under 18 had the highest.
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Family income has increased since when?
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WWII
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What's happening to the poverty rates of women and why? |
going down because more women are in the labor force and earning
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Around what age does household income begin to drop? |
55
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Household income and earnings is low for 65 and older, yet it increased relative to the rest of the population. Why? |
In 1970 we decided to index Social Security to the cost of living. People under 65 get poorer due to more expenses since their salaries don't follow the same trend.
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Which age group's income dropped the most between 2007 and 2008? |
45-54
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What was the median income for households under 65? 65 and older? |
$56,791 $29,744 |
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What was the change in household income and earnings for those under 65? 65 and older? |
-3.3% 1.2% |
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What about family net worth suggests that well-off people are really well off? |
average family net worth is much higher than the median
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What happens to family net worth with age? |
increases until about 65
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What happens to family net worth when a spouse dies? Explain. |
drops significantly Two pensions/sets of assets become one. There's some carry over/assets retained, but this is the overall outcome. |
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Should people's income and resources decline when they're old because they're old?
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If you're not earning you're not contributing so it should according to society. |
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What percentage of older persons' incomes comes from social security? |
35.3%
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What types of jobs are older people getting? |
part-time, no benefits
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What percentage of older persons' incomes comes from earnings? |
33.9%
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What percentage of older persons' incomes comes from pensions? |
17.1%
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Who get pensions nowadays? |
only military and state workers
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What percentage of older persons' incomes comes from assets? |
10.5%
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What percentage of older persons' incomes comes from other sources, including public assistance? |
3%
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Why did social security start? |
to provide funding for older adults (primarily, also people with disabilities) whose income was dropping and had no other sources of funding
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What was life expectancy when social security was started? |
62
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How does Social Security work? |
Federal government has trust fund. Taxes on our paycheck (6.2%) go to federal government's general treasury which feeds into trust fund. Take money from general treasury, get it from trust fund (savings account).
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What is replacement rate? |
Rate at which when you retire, your income is replaced by social security. Retired? Used to get $100 salary, now get $35.
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What's happening with Social Security in 2027? |
more going out of system than coming in, large reserve so still okay
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What's happening with Social Security in 2035? |
surplus is exhausted
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What's happening with Social Security in 2090? |
accumulated shortfall reaches $35.3 trillion
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What is happening with the number of workers per social security beneficiary? Explain. |
Going down. When the program started in 1935, there was no reserve and people were getting paid that had never paid into the system.
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How many workers per social security beneficiary were there originally? Now? In 2040? |
3.7 between 3.7 and 2.6 2.1 |
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What percentage of the poor's money comes from Social Security? |
83.2%
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What percentage of the rich's money comes from Social Security? Earnings? |
15.9% 50% |
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What are five solutions to the social security crisis? |
Means testing Raise the retirement age Reduce benefits Increase revenues Privatization |
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What is the anagram for solutions to the social security crisis? |
MR RIP
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What are the pros and cons of raising the retirement age? |
Life expectancy's older, but if we push it up then older adults must be in the labor force for longer and it's already harder from them to get jobs.
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Explain the idea of reducing benefits. |
Get some benefits early on, but don't get full benefits until older. Make it earning based, Bill Gates gets less money. Don't adjust to cost of living, just like workforce. Those most in need would be severely impacted, however.
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Explain the idea of increasing revenues. |
Instead of taking out 6.2% from taxes, take out 7%. Most European countries already way higher than ours (Portugal = 35%). Nobody wants more taxes taken out, though. If we raise it, 18-year-olds are going to feel it more than 60-year-olds because they'll pay in longer.
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Explain the idea of means testing. |
Bill Gates doesn't need social security, but he puts a lot of money in. Doesn't he deserve to see it? Must decide if Social Security is about age or need. We currently provide on the basis of age.
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Explain the idea of privatization. |
Get rid of whole system and make it private. Instead of people paying in 6.2%, let them keep it and invest. Determine your own future, but out of luck if you don't invest wisely. The poor don't have money to spare for saving/investing.
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How are pensions changing? |
Chances of getting them are dropping and dropping. Companies can't pay given how long you're going to live. Instead there are defined contribution plans. You provide an amount out of your paycheck in addition to social security (401K).
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When did the biggest dip in personal savings occur? |
2008
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Why did the credit card generation decrease their savings? |
thought they always have social security to pay later
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Why is my generation beginning to think about savings? |
worried about Social Security increased amount of part-time work (McDonald's doesn't have defined contribution) people weary after 2008 |
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What does Top Ten Percent Income Share 1917-2008 show? |
how we distribute income in this country, what proportion of money generated goes to what proportion of people
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What was the top ten percent income share in 1920s? What happened next?
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45%, then the great depression happened and Social Security was an outcome, top ten percent then only controlled 35% of income
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When did the top 10% grow to possess more and more income and why? |
late 1970s, Reagan reduced taxes
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What was the top ten percent income share in 2007? |
50%
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How has household income changed for the top 1% of earners between 1979 and 2007? |
275%
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How has household income changed for the bottom 20th percentile between 1979 and 2007? |
income didn't increase, 80% of income comes from Social Security
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