Where's the "Security" in Social Security?

                My last post brought to my attention the subject of Social Security. While many young people know the general concept of the plan, very few recognize the problems associated with it and the dismal future predicted for it. Similar to my first post, I want to first run through the basics of the plan before I get to my main point.

                Social Security is a mandated supplemental retirement plan that was established in 1935 as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. How does it work? Basically, the government takes a certain percentage of your paycheck every week and places it into the Social Security fund that provides benefits to current Social Security recipients. This has in recent years become a problem with some current workers, who complain that the system is unsustainable and that after paying into the system their entire working lives, there will be nothing for them to collect in their own retirement years.

                Now on to what I really want to talk about, the many problems with Social Security that will soon endanger us and our loved ones. As millions of baby boomers approach retirement, the program's annual cash surplus will shrink and then disappear. Then, Social Security will not be able to pay full benefits from its payroll and other tax revenues. It will need to consume ever-growing amounts of general revenue dollars to meet its obligations--money that now pays for everything from environmental programs to highway construction to defense. Eventually, either benefits will have to be slashed or the rest of the government will have to shrink to accommodate Social Security.

                There is also something they call the “trust fund myth”. This myth suggests that all of the Social Security surpluses since 1983 have been saved in a trust fund that will total $5.7 trillion by 2018. In the meantime, Washington is lending this money to investors -- businesses and individuals. In 2018, when the system first falls into deficit, these individuals and businesses will begin repaying this $5.7 trillion back to the federal government, and that money will make up all the program's shortfalls until 2042. This is wrong in one critical area. Not one cent of Social Security's surpluses was ever lent to businesses or individuals. Think about it: Has anyone ever heard of getting a loan from Social Security? The surpluses were actually lent to the U.S. Treasury. The Treasury then spent this money on regular government programs like defense, education and welfare. So it is the Treasury that owes the Social Security trust fund $5.7 trillion. And where does the Treasury get its money? Taxpayers!  It is the taxpayers who will have to repay the Social Security trust fund $5.7 trillion beginning in 2018.

                When I was younger my dad once said to me, “Don’t come to me with problems, come to me with solutions.” He always taught me that you shouldn’t critique something unless you have another option. And sadly, in this particular situation, while I just wrote an entire blog entry on the problems with social security, I do not have a possible solution to the problem.  It kills me to rant on how the system doesn’t work rather than how to make it better, but I also believe in the importance of education. While I may not know how to fix it, I want to teach others about the subject so that the word gets out and maybe someone out there will come up with a solution!

Obama-Rama

                  While I was doing my usual Facebook lurking the other day I noticed an abnormal amount of political related status updates. Now don’t get me wrong, updating you’re status and stating you’re opinion on current events is nothing new, but that day what I noticed was an abnormal amount of Obama-bashing. Although I am a huge fan of President Obama I do not have a problem with people who are not a fan. I do, however have problems with people that do not support our country’s leader and continually go against him. This includes the unrelenting nastiness, and lack of patriotism, of the Rush Limbaugh types who want everything the President does to fail

                Obama-bashers continually focus on the lack of achievement and change that Obama once promised to the country. How many presidents have faced the series of crises that he has, in such a short time after taking office, and have done so well? As a recent article in the Huffington Post points out, even the media have noticed the gap between Barack Obama's amazing achievements -- health care reform, financial reform and preventing a depression -- and his seeming inability to win credit for them. Why is Obama being blamed and not praised for these achievements?  

                There are many people that seemed to think that he could work miracles and when he did not they were unhappy. There were many people that have one goal, to have him fail. And he has not failed. He has gotten a lot accomplished. Unlike most of the voting public, my mind does not change with the wind. President Obama has the single most difficult job on the planet and he has to clean up over 20 years Republican rule and neglect, two wars that were miss-handled from day one, an economy that was already in a nosedive, and constantly fight with Republican obstructionists. President Obama has had eighteen months to fix all that. The republican senators have clearly decided on a strategy of obstructing ALL action, and are unified in that strategy, slowing or stopping every effort to take some positive action. I think Obama is doing a terrific job of working in this terrible environment, slogging through one horrible problem after another, trying to build some consensus in this divided country. I support him entirely.

Youth Voting

It is a sad fact that statistically young adults in the 20 something age group are not registering to vote. Their decision not to take part in the election process is individual, but many I've spoken to feel voting is a waste of time. They feel disenfranchised from the political system that runs our country, as if their voices are mute. Young adults feel alienated, as if their votes don't count. They resent the increased taxes, additional deductions for Social Security and Medicare. And yet they ignore their opportunity to express themselves. Instead of joining a political party and working to change things, they simply ignore politics.

Old people are the most reliable voters. They have the highest percentage of voters of any age group. And because of that, old people get what they want. If you're running for public office, you better be protecting the interests of old people because old people will vote you out. On the other hand, young people don't vote in large numbers and it's not worth a politician’s time to put a lot of effort in courting the young vote. Not that youth isn't important, but if politician A focuses on the young voters and politician B focuses on the old voters, politician B wins, because old people turn out. Turnout is very important because the people who turn out and vote are the ones that rule. If you don't turn out, you lose.

Even registering to vote sends a message. The government collects statistics on what age groups are registered to vote. If you are registered you become a potential voter. When the word gets out that record numbers of young people are registering to vote, politicians will get the message and will be more interested in what's important to young people. It helps you and young people everywhere if you register to vote.

This world isn't a fair world. If you want to get what you want you have to go out and go after it. You can't count on "them" taking care of you. So if you want to make a difference and be somebody, get registered and go vote.

That funny thing called, Legalization

                As a young adult interested in politics, it’s always refreshing to find an article or subject that relates to me in both the political and young adult aspect. One of those subjects that I favor discussing with my peers and really anyone that has a strong opinion on the subject, is the legalization of marijuana.

 For anyone who is not familiar with the drug, I will do a quick breakdown on the basics. Marijuana commonly known as "pot" or "weed" is widely used in the United States for recreational and medical purposes. When used recreationally marijuana is illegal and uses of the product can result in heavy fines, probation, or prison. Also, the possession and distribution can result in many harsh consequences. While looking at marijuana from a governmental point of view, the drug sounds dangerous. But is it really?

 Non-supporters of the legalization of marijuana claim that the substance is a gateway drug, leading users to experiment with more serious drugs that may have more serious consequences such as cocaine. Another myth many people get confused with is that people believe that marijuana causes cancer and can result in death. THC is the main ingredient in marijuana that causes the "high" feeling that people experience, and "no one has ever died of THC poisoning, mostly because a 160-lb. person would have to smoke roughly 900 joints in a sitting to reach a lethal dose" (Cloud 2).

 Now to move on to the part of the blog where I give you my opinion, WEED DOES NOT HURT A THING! If marijuana were to be legalized many of our country’s problems would be a step closer to being solved. The government could regulate it, and use it as a source of additional tax revenues. An enormous amount of money is raised through government taxation of alcohol, tobacco, and other "sins" (Cloud 3). The legalization of marijuana would create another item that could be taxed. I am sure the government would have no problem spending all that money.

The second reason why marijuana should be legalized is because many people believe that the war on drugs is an expensive failure. Add in the cost of police officers, judges, public defenders, prosecutors, juries, court reporters, prison guards, and so on. Legalization of marijuana would free up those people to concentrate on more important things like terrorism, harder drugs, rape, murder, and so on (Messerli 2). By legalizing marijuana legitimate cases will not have to be put on hold for minor cases such as these.

When the founding fathers made the Constitution was being written, was it not all about freedom and free will? Should we be taking away people's free will by restricting their morals? No one has control over another person's morals. All people think differently and no one has the same values. Would anyone take away someone's right to practice their own religion or have a job that they want? No. Even if the drug is wrong or harmful we cannot take away marijuana because we cannot regulate their morality (Messerli 2). So would it go against the constitution to take away that free will?

“If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on.”