Privatization: The Better Choice Every working American citizen contributes to Social Security. Anyone who has everheld a job has felt the frustration of seeing how much money the government takes out of theirpaycheck. Being told that we will all be able to collect social security when we can no longerwork does not ease the frustration of having 6.2% of our hard earned money taken from us eachpayday. If individuals could have control of their retirement funds, this frustration could beeased. Being able to control our own retirement funds is an option that is being supported moreand more by American workers.Currently, nearly 44 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. Of these 44million, 61% are retired workers, 17% are survivors of deceased workers, 12% are spouses andchildren of retired workers, and 10% are disabled workers. Obviously, the major group of SocialSecurity Beneficiaries is retired workers. Since the number of working Americans has notgrown along with the number who are retiring, Social Security has become a black hole to thecurrent generation of workers. We will pay into it most of our lives, but will not be able tocollect unless a drastic change is made.Everyone has heard the ongoing debate over the past few years about what should bedone to reform Social Security. The Social Security Board of Trustees estimates that by the year2032, Social Security funds will be fully spent. There are several reasons for this, including theretirement of the baby boom generation and the assumption that the U.S. economy will growat a slower rate than it has been. While republicans and democrats fight over whose plan isbetter, there is a simple alternative to Social Security: privatization. By making social security aprivate matter for individuals, everyone can benefit. One of the plans the government isconsidering includes partial privatization, but it is still centered around a flat tax deducted fromthe ...
