WHY DO WE NEED SOCIAL SECURITY?

A lot of conservatives, especially young people and rich people, don't think that we need the government social security system. These people believe that a person should be responsible for saving for their own future. Well lets look at some facts. First of all if a person has saved $1,000,000 and has it invested at 5% interest (hard to get these days), he will only have an income of $50,000 per year. After 25% tax he is left with only $37,500 for the year, assuming he does not start spending the principle. Spending the principal does not make sense, if he has a lot of years left to live after he retires and if he wants to leave something to his decsendents. Another problem is that if for some reason he gets sick and has to go to a nursing home, he will need to pay the nursing home $60,000 to $75,000 a year and money will be needed to do this. Most likely he or she is just going to make it on the $1,000,000! If a person is only able to save say $300,000, then their retirement will be very marginal and either they will have to invest in very high risk investments or they will have to continue to work well past the age of 70 and even may never be able to retire.

Now lets assume that you have a person who never makes more than $25,000 per year his or her entire working life. Just living expenses will eat up their entire earnings and they will be able to save only little if any of their earnings. Without being able to retire on social security, this person would have to work into their 80's or as long as they are able just to survive. What happens if this person gets sick or disabled and cannot work? He or she then becomes a ward of the State and who will pay? The tax payers of course! I can tell you that a lot of people like this person will be homeless when they can no longer work.

We have to face up to the fact that a lot of people will never go to college and will never be able to save enough money for an adequate retirement. Taxpayers will pay for this in one way or another, whether its social security taxes, or subsidized housing, or food stamps, or emergency services, we will pay. So I am in favor of the Social Security system, even though I am very conservative in my politics. We are a wealthy country. We don't need to have large groups of destitute, homeless, and poverty stricken people that we could have helped with social security.