Social Security Fairness Essay

A social contract is made possible when people give part of their rights in exchange for peace. When a sovereign is in place, the people are giving their rights to that ruler in exchange for the possibility of peace. Hobbes bases his argument on the theory that there is a ‘state of nature’ in which all people value, desire, etc. the same

There is no government, no authority whatsoever. Every being is born equal and share the right to do anything for their survival. His political theory was based off his idea that all humans are naturally evil and selfish. Hobbes said that this equality leads to war. “...a war of every man against every man.”

He believed that people formed an agreement between each other and the government, in which they gave up some rights, so that they could live in a safe and orderly way. In his book “Leviathan”, Hobbes says, “…that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth as for peace and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things;” This states that man is willing to give up some rights to live in a safe society. I think that this concept of the social contract can be related to the British monarchy. The colonists gave up some of their rights to the King, so as to have order and structure in their

Financial security is an aspiration for all families, wanting to secure their lives and not have to worry about the monetary aspects of the world. To have an economic safeguard, such as the Social Security Act, is crucial if someone is unable to work due to illness, age, sudden unemployment or when a provider passes away in order to provide some sort of income in times of need. This demand for insurance truly established itself sometime in the Industrial Revolution, as the United States began to become more forward thinking. However, it did not come to pass due to the short life expectancy in the 1800’s, around thirty-eight years old, and the lack of elderly individuals. As time went on, heading into the 1900’s, life expectancy began to rise and thus, the need for social security followed suit.

A country’s social security system is very important, as it directly relates to the happiness and wellbeing of its citizens. During this time period, Canada’s social security system advanced greatly, specifically with the Canadian Pension Plan and the Medical Care Act. Although an Old Age Pension Act was already introduced in 1927, this program only provided benefits for seniors who had an annual income that was less than $350. With the economic improvement following World War 2, seniors faced the problem of inflation because their pensions were tied to minimum income levels rather than the cost of living. In 1951, Louis St. Laurent fixed this issue by introducing the Old Age Security Act and Old Age Assistance Act, the first pensions that

Around 1954 and 1965 the social security act made more packages like disability coverage and medical benefits. As time passes, the social security includes pensions, unemployed insurance and money to dependent children. (Borick, Hyde, Russell & Shafritz, 2017, p.468) From the writing, it’s easy to visualize the steps of changing social equity to develop as social security to every citizen in the USA. The author also refers how the government made rules to differentiate low-income earners.

Younger workers are currently paying social security taxes to support the retired, and disabled. Younger workers are being cheated because the value of the taxes paid will not exceed the value of the benefits received in the future. Younger workers will never see the money they are contributing, as the Social Security system in its present form will be bankrupt. According to procon.com “The current social security program will become insolvent by 2034, so a better system is urgently required.” To elaborate, social security may result in bankruptcy because of the baby boom in 1946-1964.

The idea was thought of by some to be an outrageous proposal, but is now widely accepted by both liberals and conservatives everywhere. Similar to minimum wage, social security was also thought of as a radial form of collectivism back when it was established. (“Franklin D. Roosevelt” 2016) Social security works by adding a tax on everybody's pay, that is kept track of so when they retire, it can be paid back to them by the government. It is a way of guaranteeing a person saves for retirement.

Hobbes argued that once an individual is a part of an absolute monarchy, they no longer have the rights to branch away from the government. He created the idea that people who are a part of this absolutist society cannot fight against the authority because it provides protection for the people. Locke had another viewpoint which regarded the protection of the people, but he saw it in a civil society. Locke explained that the social contract was the result of men who had the equal rights as a natural concept of life. He preached that all men have rights and freedom to express their opinions and protection of their property.

One his theories, stated in his book called Leviathan said that people are not able rule themselves because of how selfish mankind is and they need to be ruled by an iron fist. His political theory was that was also stated in Leviathan was that we should respect government authority under all circumstances to avoid violence. Hobbes was scared of the outcome of the social contract which meant people could get rid of the government if they were unhappy with what they were getting. In order to make well with the social contract he states in Leviathan that people should be completely obedient to the government. His reasoning was that if there was no government, there would be chaos.

As a society we need to accept that it is up to our generation to fix this issue. Reforming Social Security will benefit everyone living in the U.S. in the long run. Restoring Social Security to its once former glory is a necessity to benefit our further generations and to create a better future for the next generation of workers. In order to accomplish this lofty goal I propose that we increase the payroll tax cap to boost Social Security’s funding and reduce benefits for the higher income earners who do not need Social Security as much as others do. The majority of Social Security’s income originates from the Social Security payroll tax.

Summary Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) theory of social contract, which states that we need moral, legal rules because we want to escape the state of nature which is solitary, poor, brutal, nasty, and short. In this state, a man can kill others, and there are limited resources. This can soon lead to a state of war in which we are constantly disposed to harm others to achieve our goals. So, in this state of war if a person was to possess a beautiful house or property, and had all the comforts, luxuries, and amenities to lead a wonderful life; others could come and harm him and deprive him of his fruit of labor, life, and liberty. Therefore, the state of nature is that of fear, violence, and distrust.

This is seen in today’s world as the government have control over everyone; from our education system to even our workforce is controlled and managed to the government’s choosing. Another example of Hobbes’ idea being demonstrated in today’s government is its constraint. This idea of constraint or in other words restraint is that the government is allowed to do anything and their power is absolute unless the people's lives feel threatened. Tom Sorell states, “The power of government is absolute unless the people feel that their lives are threatened.” For this reason Hobbe had made it clear that he stood with the people and the government.

Benefits of Social Security Social Security is a government run retirement savings program. It provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible individuals. Originally established during the Great Depression in the 1930s, it’s idea was to provide a social safety net for the elderly, who no longer were in the working population. Although it is an expensive program, and engenders payroll taxes for anyone with a job, it has become an important element of the economy. In this article, we will explore the benefits of Social Security as well as how you can supplement your savings.

Hobbes was an English philosopher, known through out the world as the author of “Leviathan” which is regarded as one of the earliest examples of the social contract theory. His writings were greatly influenced by the