Social Security is the department within the government that was established to pay benefits to primary workers. Over the years, Social Security has changed to assist not only the primary worker, but dependents, disabled persons, immigrants and children. With each of these factors in place, we can clearly see how one must plan for their own retirement and not solely depend on Social Security.
The statement that Social Security will cover needs when one is retired is not only a myth but an ancient and outdated philosophy. As one looks into the Social Security today, one must look at the entire pie. Social Security is a tax paid by working men and women. A percentage of these taxes is suppose to be put away for future use while drawing interest in a high yield savings. However, with the many bailouts, lawsuits, and unsupervised government spending, Social Security has become the (get out of trouble) savings and loan. The funds that were saved has yet been used to bail out banks, help other agencies within the government stay in the black and pay millions to immigrants who have worked in this country. However their money or should one say their Social Security funds go to their country.
President Theodore Rossevelt said that “Social Security is a law that will take care of the human needs and provide for the economic structure.” The economic structure is diminished, thereby leaving the human needs of the people in an insecure state. Social Security today is not the Social Security of the early 1930’s. We cannot wait on the government to “do the right thing” and take care of each persons’ individual needs, if we do we are as blind as the government.
So with all of these points in mind, one would be crazy to believe that you could work for years and build a nest and then live in the nest until death. The Social Security nest is far from being secure. It is now being held together by political red tape, loan slips and out source paperwork. Working for a living is a good thing and by working one builds character. But, today the character you built from the ground up will be needed to help build a better nest. Taking on an extra job, going back to school or starting your own business will be a great help as one saves for retirement. Retirement was at age sixty five, but longevity and the lack of Social Security along with the rising cost of living has forced people to work longer even sometimes until death. The average Social Security check is about eight hundred dollars per month. With the cost of living, food, medication and taxes going up each year, one cannot merely depend upon a benefit that is hanging on by a spiders web.
