Debate: Privatizing social security

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Should social security be privatized?

Background and context

Social Security is a social insurance program officially called "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance" (OASDI), in reference to its three components. It is primarily funded through a dedicated payroll tax. During 2008, total benefits of $625 billion were paid out versus income (taxes and interest) of $805 billion, a $180 billion annual surplus. An estimated 162 million people paid into the program and 51 million received benefits, roughly 3.2 workers per beneficiary.

Due to projected difficulties with social security programs, many have argued, including former president Bush, that social security should be privatized (at least partly). This is a situation in which individuals are given subsidized personal accounts ("individual accounts" or "private accounts") through partial privatization of the system. President Barrack Obama "strongly opposes" privatization.

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Economic Growth

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Yes

• Privatizing social security will spur investments, economic growth. Economic growth leads to lower unemployment, lower inflation, and a greater standard of living for society as a whole. The implementation of private accounts would mean a significant amount of money would be invested into the private sector. And since money could be shifted around, the most efficient and successful companies would gain additional investment funds.

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No

• Privatized social security accounts are more risky. Most stock market experts will point out that the long-term return on stocks has always been positive, despite temporary setbacks now and then. In other words, the market may go up 150 percent one decade, then down 50 percent the next, then up 60 percent the next, then down 25 percent the next. Overall, the return may be positive, but what happens to the retirees that hit age 65 during one of the downturns? Hopefully they were wise enough to gradually put most of their money in safer investments, but there's no guarantee they did the right thing.

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Personal Wealth

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Yes

• Americans living at the poverty level must usually spend every cent of their disposable income just to survive. Few in the lower-middle class have the funds available to put into a wealth-generating retirement account. Thus, they must rely on social security income to pay the bills when they reach retirement age. Unfortunately, the current social security payouts are at or below the poverty level. The money you earn in benefits based on what you pay in is less than what you'd earn in a passbook savings account.

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No

• Privatized social security will cut tax revenues and social services. We all know that the social security system is severely underfunded; it's headed for bankruptcy sometime in the 2040s. Implementing private accounts will take 4 percent of the 12.4 percent taxes from every worker out of the trust fund. Thus, almost a 3rd of the revenue generated by social security taxes will be removed. Drastic benefit cuts or increased taxes will have to occur even sooner, which is a recipe for disaster.

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