Social security in the United States began in 1935 with the social security act signed by President Roosevelt. The idea was a noble one, and the elderly applauded the idea of economic security after their working years were finished. Over the years many changes have been made to social security, but the idea of taking care of the older portion of the population has stayed the same. The funds set aside for retirement have been shifted around and used for different things over the years, but the government has always tried to have reserves in place to continue to take care of retirees regardless of what happens with the economy. Today we are at a crossroads with the program that may lead to its demise if we don't do something immediately.

There are opposing views to the need for social security that are as old as the program is. One side of the debate claims that the needs of the elderly cannot be ignored, but the other side sees the program as a move toward socialism. Capitalists claim that social security is a program provided by a government that doesn't believe its people can take care of themselves. That the government takes a portion a person's wages against their will, only to return it years later because the person is too irresponsible to save the money themselves. If wage earners were to take the same amount of money from their own paychecks and put it in a savings account, or invest it; the return at retirement would be almost twice as much as the government gives them for social security.

Today, the program is bankrupting the country. Years ago the government began using the funds collected for social security for other things and now relies heavily on the working population to pay for the needs of retired Americans. The pay as you go system seemed to work for a long time and freed up funds for the government to do other things, but the lack of future planning has now put the program in serious jeopardy. The baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age; which means there will be more retirees and a smaller work force to support them. New projections show that social security will pay more out than it brings in by 2017.

Medicare is facing similar problems, but it is much further along. The government already pays out more than it brings in and estimations show that the country will not be able to afford it at all by 2020. Ameriplan offers an alternative to government healthcare at an affordable price, but there isn't an alternative to social security besides people saving for retirement on their own. Environmental initiatives and other entitlement programs threaten to bring bankruptcy ever closer, and the economic downturn is speeding the process up.

The government is considering many solutions to the problem, but no one solution will make everyone happy. Raising the retirement age from 65 to 72, or lowering the amount of benefit checks are both being considered. Either way, we can't continue on the path we are on for much longer without risking the complete collapse of the social security program. People in younger generations are already being taught that their retirement security is in their own hands and many have begun saving on their own. No one wants to see the elderly lose the support they need to live out their golden years, but we would all be better off if we just accept that we can't rely on the government forever.