As a young person new to “the real world,” I fully support the privatization of Social Security.
Every two weeks when I receive my paycheck, it irks me to see how much money the government is literally stealing from me and my peers in the name of “Social Security.” I am 22 years old meaning I have 40 years left before I can start receiving retirement benefits at the age of 62, which will be the year 2050.
I placed the amount of money I pay in Social Security taxes each month into a private investment calculator, and believe me, the results were much more positive than what the future of my money holds with the government.
As an investment, Social Security does not give the highest rate of return, in fact in my case will give me zero return on investment. Private investment on the other hand does. If people were able to put the amount of money they pay to Social Security every month it into a 401k or IRA, their money would grow at a much more substantial rate than sitting with the government or simply being spent, gaining no value.
Social Security is in the red….today, not tomorrow, not 10 years from now, today. The Washington Times Reported in April that for the first time, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes in. Like we didn’t know this coming.
We have all seen the kind of job Washington has done with managing our money, and continuing to depend on government for a secure retirement through Social Security is simply unrealistic and naive. There is nothing secure about Social Security.
Democrats, and many politicians in general, don’t like the idea of privatizing the program because it would put choices back into the hands of the people, limiting government from allocating dollars originally intended for Social Security to other projects along the way. Privatization would also require more personal responsibility among citizens.
Many liberal politicians use slogans such as “Don’t let Republicans gamble with your retirement,” but I would bet any day on the minds of the people to make solid investments with their own money rather than the government, especially with its track record of earmarks and flippant spending.
Republicans are making the argument that seniors deserve better when it comes to Social Security benefits. I beg to differ. Young people are really the ones who deserve better. Seniors are already collecting Social Security. Young people will continue to pay into the system their entire life, but will never collect the money they already earned unless the program is privatized.
Things in the near future look bleak since President Obama believes “Social Security is not in a crisis.” When in all reality, it has already fallen off a cliff. And even if the President takes up the issue, his solution will be more government, not less, not to mention private investment has the potential to make Americans more wealthy, and according to the President, he does "think at a certain point you have made enough money."
Americans should have the option, as President Bush tried to provide during his second term but was shut down by big government republicans, to place their money in a private investment fund. Investments are a gamble yes, but placing your money with the government is a waste.
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