Overview of Social Security
When we hear the words "Social Security", we usually think of growing old and saving money for retirement, but the truth is that Social Security has been around for about seventy years and has played a very important role in our government. Today, Social Security is part of almost everyone's life; it protects more than 150 million workers and pays benefits to more than 45 million people. The purpose of this paper is to give a better view of Social Security from many different standpoints. In the first section of this paper I will explain what Social Security is and how it works. In the second section of this paper I will explain President Bush's plans for reforming Social Security. In the third section of this paper I will explain Krugman's views on privatizing the Social Security program and if there is a crisis or not from Krugman's standpoint. In the last section of this paper I will explain Chile's system of privatization and how it has functioned.
In this first section of the paper I will explain how Social Security was created, explain its purposes, explain how it is financed and funded, and to finally explain some benefits that Social Security has to offer. The creation of Social Security dates back to the era of the Civil War when the first full pension system was developed, even though it was not actually official until 1935. There were forms of Social Security created following the Civil War because of the widowers and orphans that were left without husbands and fathers due to the casualties of the war. The widows and orphans could receive pensions in an amount equal to what would have been payable to th ...