For decades, our parents and possibly even grandparents were required to pay into a pool of money called Social Security. They were not given a choice. As we became old enough to work for legal wages, our pay was also "involuntarily" tapped for an amount to add to this pool.
The positive (supposedly) aspect is that eventually, when we reach retirement age, we will have some sort of supplement to our income or retirement savings to assist us financially. If we become disabled before reaching retirement age and we have paid sufficient benefits, we may be able to receive benefits to assist in our financial future.
Now, the question is should we abolish benefits? If this were to occur, what happens to those currently receiving benefits, particularly those who have no other means of income?
In addition, what happens to the thousands of dollars an individual contributed during their working life to the program? Is it just gone? Lost forever?
Social Security needs reform; the biggest being to keep government entities from accessing the funds for the program and using them for other things. In addition, the government should be forced to return all monies "borrowed" from the program NOW!
Government raids on the financial resources have resulted in the fiscal problems facing Social Security today. Politicians see money sitting in a place and decide how best to spend it, even if it isn't there for their spending use.
Our bridges and roads are in a horrid state of disrepair nationwide. Gas taxes have been collected long-term to fund repairs. Now there are calls to re-instate toll roads to assist in paying for needed repairs. Why?
Another pile of money sitting where it should and some nefarious politician decided to tap into it for other projects leaving a shortfall for the roads and bridges. The fact of the matter is AMERICANS have already PAID to repair the roads; the money is sitting in another project.
To get Social Security AND our roads back into shape, our government should host a "spending stand down" much like the military does when too many accidents/incidents occur with similar equipment.
Compute how much money has been robbed from Social Security and the roads and then see what projects are funded. Those that were approved through "pork barrel" means tacking the project into a bill that had no direct relationship to the project funded should result in rescinding of funding for that project.
Once all funds have been accounted for, return funds removed from projects where the money was specifically for that purpose including Social Security and the road repair project.
Now, review the projects that lost funding in this manner. Those that cannot pass the rigorous approval process die. Those that can pass get funded at reasonable federal government amounts.
Place safeguards to prevent robbing funds from programs such as Social Security, Medicare, road funds and any others in existence where the funds are specifically collected for that project and lock the funds permanently into them. Locking so that no entity can spend funds from the program except for what it is supposed to be for.
Then re-do those in the Social Security offices. To take six months to receive benefits is entirely unacceptable! People may literally die before receiving one penny. SSI can drag their feet for six months to start benefits but can stop benefits within a day's time when notified of the death of a payee. This indicates it is possible to reduce the processing time to less than one month for benefits approval.
Pork barrel (adding "projects" to bills currently before or heading before Congress) needs to be outlawed. The government wants to regulate the citizens to death wear seatbelts, hands free devices on cell phones, etc; now it is time for the citizens to regulate the politicians.
It must be possible to investigate whether an individual is eligible and should receive benefits in a timely manner. Many who work the phones for SSI have the attitude as if any money paid out comes directly from their bank account. It should not be necessary to have to hire a lawyer to receive benefits the individual requesting PAID FOR!
When there are abuses to the system and benefits are found to be paid without eligibility, extraordinary efforts should be made to reclaim them; particularly if the benefits were paid under fraudulent conditions. Accidental payments can be considered case-by-case.
If hiring a lawyer becomes necessary to fight for benefits paid into, the SSI should pick up the legal tab if the ruling is in favor of the applicant.
Today, with our government in such a "giving" mood; $700 billion to help Wall Street, $150 billion added to that bill just to buy "Yes" votes in the House to get it to pass, and with the American automakers banging on our door begging for $50-$75 billion; why doesn't the government take some of this evaporating money and pay back ALL of the funds "borrowed" from the Social Security Program through the decades and then place it "off-limits" for a source of funding for future projects? This would put the program back on the right road and the talk of it being a bad thing would disappear once it had its own funds back that were stolen away to begin with.
No, Social Security benefits should not be abolished, but those who administer to the program need a serious reality check as well as the politicians who rob the funds and those who approve this robbery. Until accountability is put in place and maintained, many programs including Social Security and transportation will suffer. As is the case in Social Security, that suffering trickles to those who can least afford delays and denials.