People who contribute to social security should have the right to Essay

People who contribute to social security should have the right to choose how their money is invested - Essay Example Neither is social security a financially secure program as the office itself has a problem collating funds in order to fund itself. The program is basically bankrupt. Knowing that social security is in dire straights due to the U.S. economy, one cannot help but wonder, maybe the system will be better off if it is privatized and the members are given the opportunity to invest the money they contribute to the system themselves? With the annual return of social security contributions pegged at about 1.2. % this means that is has the lowest ROI prediction of all the retirement investments of an individual. The expected ROI from the stock market averages 6.34 %. As such, if a social security account is converted into a private account, the FICA taxes could give a maximum return on the investment upon the retirement of the member. The social security system would then actually be in a position to help supplement the retirees income in a significant manner. (â€Å"Should Social Security be Privatized?†). ... y accounts were privatized by allowing individuals to have their own private accounts, the member will be able to maximize the full potential of his membership with the system. Keep in mind that when the Social Security Act was set into place by congress back in 1935, Pres. Franklin Roosevelt signed a document that merely stated that the program would provide old-age benefits for its members. This was amended in 1956 to include disability benefits for its members (Agresti James, & Cordone Stephen â€Å"Social Security Facts†). The structure by which the program is created shows that the system is not in the control of the members, but rather in the hands of politicians who have the ability to format and reformat the program as they deem fit. To be clear (Tamny, John, â€Å"The Ugly Truth About Social Security is Revealed†): ... the money we pay into Social Security is not ours, meaning politicians can reduce or confiscate the dollars withheld from our paychecks as they see fit. They can also reduce our retirement by simply raising the retirement age. And then as evidenced by the collapse of the dollar since 2001 (a dollar in ’01 bought 1/250th of an ounce of gold, today it buys 1/1600th), another way they can eviscerate their obligations is to debase the dollars they are presumed to owe. Our politicians are not currently in the position to invest our hard earned dollars in any system that is meant to help alleviate the lives of the people. It was too much governance in the financial aspect of individual lives that brought us to this point in this first place. The government has shown us that they cannot even work together to put together a cohesive budget for our country, how can we trust them to develop a cohesive investment plan for the future and current retirees of