Current Event Analysis: Social Security Policy

Current Event Analysis: Social Security Policy
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Professor
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American Public University
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Current Event Analysis: Social Security Policy
Charts


Chart from 1947 to 1987


Chart from 1989 to 2017
History of the Policy
The social security policy has remained a fundamental area attracting significant congressional attention in the United States of America. According to Carrier (2016), the history of this policy dates back to 1935, when Congress enacted the Social Security Act. The author indicates that the act was a transformative and futuristic approach to the nation’s economy and people’s welfare because it proposed solving the diverse issues arising from the Great Depression. The foundation of social security was to lessen the senior citizens’ challenges that threatened to overturn their lives and hamper their capability to access and afford basic needs and services. By the time of the passing of this policy, more than 50% of senior citizens in the United States had languished in poverty (Carrier, 2016). Thus, this act incorporated urgently needed provisions that embarked on designing a social insurance initiative to provide workers with an income beyond their retirement age of 65 years (Carrier, 2016). Congress also added other essential benefits to the program for comprehensive coverage. It is a systematic program that draws benefits from the payroll tax. The responsible institutions use the trust fund to secure these finances and invest them in treasury securities to attract considerable returns. This policy has been revolutionary in the nation, considering that Social Security ranks top among the federal budget item costs annually today.
Congressional Focus According to the Data
The data trend about social security from the comparative agenda project demonstrates that the congressional plan about this issue has remained focused throughout the years. The gradual growth in the budgeting for this issue, without noticeable slumps since its enactment in 1935, illustrates that Congress assigned significant focus on the policy throughout its history. For instance, DeWitt (2010) reports that Congress initiated groundbreaking social security legislation and amendments between 1935 and 2000 as a demonstration of its unwavering efforts to ensure the success of this policy in the nation. Each of the amendments contributed significantly to the continued growth in the robustness of the policy and the improvement of its budgeting (DeWitt, 2010). For instance, after designing the policy with individual retirement benefits in 1935, Congress quickly followed it with the 1939 10th August amendments that incorporated survivors’ and dependents’ benefits (DeWitt, 2010). It also tweaked the policy to make the benefits noticeably attractive for the individuals who start to participate early.
Other progressive changes illustrating the focus of Congress and affirming the changing agenda rose through the august 1950 amendments that adjusted financing and coverage (DeWitt, 2010). This change also raised the benefits and led to a gradually increasing trend, as demonstrated by the data. Trends indicate that Congress further increased the ...