Cause and Effect of Crisis in the US Social Security System - Coursework Example

Cause & Effect of Crisis in Americas Social Security System Social Security was created by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, and since then has acted as a focus of the country’s social bond, and has provided income to the most susceptible of citizens. It covers almost twenty percent of the federal budget and is the most popular government plan in the world. (Social Security (US) In 2005, President George W. Bush declared that a crisis was coming which will affect the American Social Security System.

But it has been reported that this was probably a fake crisis, which was risen so that government officials could earn an extra bit of money. The situation facing the social security is pretty clear. It has enough income to last for about thirty years, and it does not seem that it will be running out anytime soon. The program was created to provide benefits to the retired and old age people, and the benefits were said to rise with the growing increase in wages of the people. The fact that the economy is producing more than enough funds to offer an increasing standard of living for the future generations, while also honoring its commitment to the Social Security, comes as a shock to some people.

As a matter of fact, the only threat that the social security is facing is from the politicians who are trying to ‘alter’ the system and bring drastic changes by faking a crisis. (The introduction to Social Security: The Phony Crisis). The changes that Bush wanted to bring would have actually put the Social Security System in crisis. His privatization plan would have half ruled half of the Social Security funds into private accounts. This would have made the Social Security dependent on the Trust Funds, which would have emptied the Trust Funds twenty years sooner, and as a result payments to the people would have reduced by seventy percent.

This would have created a real crisis. The Social Security Trust Fund has been in operation for about seventy years. There was a much worse crisis in 1983. The Trust Fund was about to drain then, but the problem as brought under control, and it worked for over fifty years. The Social Security system has been altered a few times, to keep it stable. Even if the government just sits idle and does nothing, then the Trust Fund is said to run out in 2035. But even then the Social Security would not be broke.

So the so called crisis said to have occurred, is not much of a threat. The Social Security is well established and is said to run effectively for the next many years. If it is threatened by anything, it is the ‘reforms’ of the politicians and their attacks on then system. Their drive to save the system by creating a crisis will put the Social Security system under more jeopardy. (Is There a Social Security Crisis?) References Is There a Social Security Crisis?." zFacts on Controversial Topics. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. . JR., JOHN H.

CUSHMAN, and ROBERT PEAR. "Social Security (US) - News - Times Topics - The New York Times." Times Topics - The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. . "Social Security: The Phony Crisis, Introduction -- Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot." The University of Chicago Press | Home . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.