Should Social Security Be Required or voluntary Essay

Should Social Security Be Required or voluntary - Essay Example Social security is an entitlement program whereby the Congress can make changes to the benefits and eligibility of workers thus workers paying in to the social security system do not necessarily have right to receive any guaranteed benefits at the end of retirement3. Currently, billions of US dollars are spend in financing the programs through deductions on payrolls of employees and government expenditure. The social security programs also cover the unemployed and those incapable of getting employment due to disability and other disadvantages. There is an intense debate on whether social security should be a required or voluntary due to the mandatory payroll deductions and the high government tax revenues that are spend in financing the programs4. Social security is a major political issue that has attracted strong opinions across the US demographic segments. Proponents of social security maintain that it should be required while opponents of the system assert that it should be volun tary5. The debate of social security is centered on various major philosophical arguments such as the right of ownership and choice of private investment alternatives that will guarantee personal retirement income. In addition, another controversial argument that surrounds the social security is the right of the government to collect payroll taxes and finances social security and importance of wealth redistribution in the society. Accordingly, intergenerational rights such as right of those living today and the ability to impose financial burden to future generations is also a topic of intense debate in determining whether it should be required or voluntary6. Some people argue that social security is a charitable safety net while others hold that it is an earned benefit program. The other controversial debate attached to the topic is the trade-off between private wealth creation and social insurance. Thesis statement: social security should be voluntary. Opponents of social security assert that it should be voluntary since Americans will not be capable of sustaining the needs of the social security system in the future and the growing middle class should have the freedom to invest for their retirement7. Middle-income individuals pay a high proportion of their income to the program in order to secure their retirement thus hindering any opportunities for making personal viable savings and investments. Since the social security systems does not create any meaningful wealth, the benefits that individuals get after retirement are just financed by the current tax payers thus making the social security system unsustainable8. For instance, Medicare and social security accounted for 38 percent of the federal spending in 2012 fiscal year and estimates point out that the current federal spending on the programs will exceed the federal GDP growth by 2030. Accordingly, the US is currently experiencing low employment rate and increasingly aging population, thus the projecte d collections from employment will be less than the high spending that will be caused by the high number of aged individual. Accounting to the 2013 edition of the annual trustee’s reports of Medicare and Social security, the reports indicate that the trust funds must be abolished. The report indicates that 2012 Medicare benefits and social securi