Economic+Policy+Briefing

[] [] [] also, AP edition Government in America, People, Politics, and Policy 1. the top five economic issues facing the United States (including funding entitlements are) 1. Unemployment Rates 2. Inflation 3. The National Deficit 4. Social Security System 5. Imports and Exports

2. The Main Economic Issue- The Social Security System 3. The cause of this becoming an issue for the American society is that after World War II when everyone got back they started having more children causing a sharp increase in the Nation's population, also called the Babyboomers. Social security itself was passed in 1935 that was made to make sure that the older American citizens would be saved from poverty. Medicare/medicaid was added to the system in 1965 that provides hospital insurance foe the elderly and gives them inexpensive coverage. Then with the recent recession and the loss of unemployment coupled with the fact that the babyboomers are now old enough to be supported by social security, means that there were less people supporting more and more of the elderly. This caused congress to spend even more, making it one of the most controversial economic issues to date 4. three main industries impacted are the pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and insurance companies 5. The region impacted is all of america 6. the demogrpahics impacted most obviously are the elderly that benefit from Social Security (ages 62, and then 66 are the starting ages for some benefits and then full benefits), but then also it impacts all of the working class which consists mainly of adults under the age of 62. This is due to support more senior citizens, they eventually will pay more in Social Security taxes. 7. Current cost of the issue is approximately $680 billion 8. the estimate cost is several trillion dollars to bail out social security 9. the estimated cost of social security if not fixed is by 2035 $248 billion dollars in cash deficit 10. a possible solution for this issue is to raise the age of eligibility for Social Security 11. political allies of this solution are the working class, and the younger generation not wanting to spend their entire paychecks away supporting a bunch on inactive senior citizens. Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson who are on the commissions board for the deficit, are just two politicans supporting the increase of age of eligibility for social security 12. political adversaries of this solution are the senior citizens already on social security checks and not wanting to lose their source of income. the poor are also opposed to this, and members on Obama's staff are against it as well due to the projections of people then claiming disabilities to remain on the pensions. Seeing that the disability claims usually pay out more than the normal social security benefits some feel that it would only worsen the deficit of social security. Some organizations behind this are most definitely the AARP.