Should Social Security Be Privatized

If the system is not broken, why take steps to fix it? This is a grammatically correct spin on the old adage that seems to haunt humanity, and the American government in particular. It is often difficult to see impending doom until it is too late to tell. Social Security was created in 1935 in response to a national crisis that started with a stock market crash, continuing with years of economic decline. What started as a simple way to help older Americans recover what they lost for a few years, turned into one of the biggest entitlements and spending programs in the United States to date. Its purpose has been thoroughly exhausted and become an unnecessary fall back and to many, an insufficient backup plan. However, if these problems weren’t enough to raise red flags already, surely its current ineffective nature is clear enough to prove that Social Security should indeed be privatized, and not a federal program. …show more content…
According to the Social Security Association’s 2015 Trustees Report, they have been paying more benefits than it receives in workers’ contributions – evidently showing irresponsible spending. Furthermore, since Social Security does have issues keeping up with the demand of retiring workers, abolishing the system would free up 26% of normal spending yearly (SSA 1). With other world issues, such as international defense, other welfare programs, and infrastructure, that $888 billion per year could be put to better use. Currently, Social Security imposes a bigger burden on the American worker – jumping from low rates of taxes to up to 12% for a self-employed individual (SSA 2). This forced tax takes away choice and financial flexibility, leading to the biggest advantage of privatized Social Security and retirement: freedom of