U.S. Social Security (Politics in Ecolang.)

U.S. Social Security (Politics in Ecolang.) - Privatizers don't like this! Best overview of U.S. Social Security debate. Vote it up!

The economy actually has a good outlook for Social Security and it stays stable as a percentage of GDP: see the Congressional Budget Office's long-term budget outlook.

The warning about the short-term Trust Fund deficit is a decoy to distract you from Social Security: It was the Bush income tax cuts that swallowed the payroll tax surpluses. (And then some!)

Tell the politicians to put taxes back the way they were, fix the healthcare system instead, and leave Social Security alone.

In another animation we will show that Social Security is the most-highly-evolved program to cover all the variables that it does so well.

Social Security probably is "efficient" -- in a COMPREHENSIVE economic sense that includes the minimization of the personal, social, and political transaction costs that must always be involved in balancing general welfare against distributional outcomes.

It's an amazingly good design for a universal safety net.

The fact that Social Security nearly "pays for itself" with a dedicated tax (the payroll tax) is very important with regard to tying together the following things, automatically: people's responsibility for a social safety-net; the life-long contribution that must require; and the final acceptance of one's personal tradeoffs regarding one's contingencies in the final outcome. So therefore, a discussion of "solvency" does have some "general welfare vs. distributional" decision attributes.

Again, Social Security is an amazingly good design for a universal safety net, and these general principles of it should be useful to the healthcare overhaul.

Still, supporters of Social Security follow the Trustee's actuarial reports, and so they accept that Social Security might need a tweak in 20 or 30 years.

P.S. Social Security is NOT "big government," and it is time to clarify the assertion. It is (relatively) big spending. But there is no bureaucracy and almost zero administrative overhead. What we DON'T want is a means-testing bureaucracy that has to deal with approximately half the retirees in every generation, with continuous political gaming by Congresspeople and lobbyists in search of money and votes. That would indeed be a big-government nightmare.

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[leearnold]

@justintempler -- Your comment disappeared (something wrong with YouTube). -- If productivity feeds into wage growth (as economics predicts, but class-war prevents) then retirees will maintain a standard of living. This is figured into the Social Security trustees projections. The worker-retiree ratio is a slightly different issue, but it, too, is already figured into the projections. There is no big problem.

[JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed]

I've never liked Social Security primarily for the fact that a man should be taking care of his own future by the sweat of his brow, not relying on the govt to pay him back once he gets older. How stupid a concept is entrusting your money to crooks to pay you back once you are old and gray. This is so utterly stupid. Save, invest, and guard your own money instead of replying on the Govt to be your provider once you retire. Who thought of this idiotic idea of Social Security?

[leearnold]

@JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed -- We just BAILED OUT all the investors, who have ditched the economy. So it is not the sweat of YOUR brow. But even in normal times, about 1/2 of all retirees would be below the poverty line without Social Security. The market system cannot work for everybody: no matter how good you think you will do, there will be lots of losers. The vagaries of life take people into very different scenarios. Social Security is just the safety net.

[bruceduece1]

@JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed Social security has been around since 1935. In over 75 years it has never failed to meet a committment. It's a good system. As far as "the sweat of your brow," it sounds good, but things happen to people. They get sick, their husband dies, etc. I'm sure Social Security has been taking care of someone in your family, and it probably has for generations.

[leearnold]

@JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed -- Those whom you are paying for, paid BEFORE you, to others who were retired at that time. It is a social compact. We are also forced to stop at red lights and forced to contribute to the national defense. Some problems are easier to take care of if we make a simple law that covers everybody.

[leearnold]

@JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed -- 'How does Social Security effect private insurance and retirement investment firms?"

Ans. -- Not at all.

Ques. -- How much money did the U.S. taxpayer pay, to SAVE all of those insurance firms and investment firms in the financial crash?

[JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed]

@JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed How does Social Security effect private insurance and retirement investment firms?

[JesusMakeUpMyDyinBed]

@leearnold a forced safety net. . I save my money, work hard, go to school, and take care of my family. I'm forced to pay the govt a portion of my paycheck not for myself but to pay for those who are retired, disabled etc. now. My empoloyer is also forced to pay the govt the same amount which i would prefer go to me along with my fica payment with which i could save or place into a money market account. Believe it or not people didn't used to rely on the govt for their care.

[leearnold]

@MrIzzyDizzy -- You vote for the gov't. Don't vote for people who tell you that Social Security is in big trouble, because that is the only way you will be screwed. They are the ones you can't trust: they are lying, to scare you.

In the long term, wage growth has matched productivity gains due to competition for labor. In the short term, the U.S. is losing jobs in some sectors due to increased globalization, but that will likely turn around again.

[leearnold]

@MrIzzyDizzy -- All of this is already included in the Social Security trustees annual reports. A few minor tweaks to the system can make Social Security solvent forever. The main future problem is medical expenditure, public and private.