President Bush on Social Security Reform essays

President Bush on Social Security Reform essays The topic of social security is one that seems to arise again and again during presidential elections, and is often one of the most debated subjects of a presidents administration. Since his initial victory over then Vice President Al Gore in 2000, George Bush has continually worked on reforming the United States current system of social security. Many politicians consider social security to be the so called third-rail of American Politics, because like the third rail of a train, it will shock you if you touch it. However, the fault that lies within this theory is that by not touching it, we will not be able to fix it, and as George Bush said in an August 2000 speech: I will touch the third rail so I can fix it. Social security was originally implemented by Franklin Roosevelt almost 70 years ago, and has been in continual, un-interfered service since then. However, with the recession in 2001, the huge U.S. deficit, the baby-boomer generation getting ready to retire in about seven years, and the war on terrorism, many people, especially the younger working population, are beginning to get worried about whether or not social security will be around for them. George Bushs solution, one that has stirred up much controversy, is to allow younger workers to invest a portion of their paychecks into private savings account, where they would get a higher rate of return as opposed to the current social security trust funds. By allowing the rates of returns to be compounding at a higher rate, it would ensure that the entire social security system would stay intact for generations to come. He says that a 2% return a year is not good enough, and by allowing the United States to privatize their money, it could potentially yield rates of return as high as 6%. He also promised that this system would be strictly voluntary, and the matter of trusting the government with ones retirement, or themselves woul...