ACTIVISIM AND ASPIRATIONS

Americans have acquiesced for too long and now we face among one of the greatest fiscal challenges of the twenty first century. On top of the aftermath of the current economic crisis, one of the major challenges facing our nation in the upcoming years is the increase of dependency on Social Security brought on by the baby boomers entering retiring age. The monumental strain placed on the Social Security system must be alleviated with minimal effects on the national debt.  Such results could be accomplished by a four stage program as well as an implementation of a limited deficit spending policy enforced by a large population of actively involved citizens.

The first stage of a program aimed at reducing the rate of accumulating debt; would require the rising of taxes on corporations, and higher-income households. Money collected from the raising of taxes on corporations and higher personal income taxes will provide the funding needed by the government to allocate Social Security to the large population of baby boomers in future years, as well as regain the trust of many Americans. Though the raising of taxes will help alleviate pressure on the infrastructure of the Social Security system it will by no means solve the problem on its own.

Stage Two, consisting of a mandatory implementation of pension plans for all employees of businesses of specific sizes measured by employment or annual income. In conjunction with the first stage, Stage Two should be implemented as soon as possible so it can affect the largest proportion of baby boomers possible.  Such a mandatory pension plan will build one of the three traditional legs of personal retirement plans.  The overall increase in pension plans across the population will result in a decrease of pressure on the Social Security system in subsequent years.  

As a preventive measure the third stage of this strategy should focus on the education of future generations regarding the general structure and limitations of our Social Security system. The majority of the U.S. population is not educated past high school and thus such educational endeavors must include high school students and/or the community in order to have maximum efficacy. By informing current and future generations about the limits of our system as well as  the importance of saving and sacrificing, we will effectively increase the dependence of the majority of the population on themselves, teaching individuals the importance of saving and living below their means, strengthening the third leg of the traditional retirement plan. 

Finally, a fourth stage of prioritized Social Security should be implemented in order to increase the efficacy of the actions mentioned above. By allocating Social Security to a proportion of the population that needs it (i.e., earned below a specific lifetime average rate of income) and lowering Social Security of those who earned over a set amount throughout their lifetimes, we will be ensuring that the money collected from the above stage is spent in the most effect way. Maintaining the standards of living for all individuals drawing from Social Security is the primary goal in directed allocation amongst retiring individuals. The cultural value of caring for our elders is a value that we want to keep as a nation, and the plan of action outlined above seems to be an effective means of accomplishing such a goal. Although such a program seems to punish individuals with a higher income by taxing them and not providing as many services, it would not be directly punishing them; however would be allowing them to help raise the standard of living for retirees in our nation. Virtually all would gain from the resulting improvement of services and quality of life.

The above series of stages are merely measures to inhibit our nation from further placing itself in debt, while regaining the trust of the majority of the people (those with an average to low income).  Although this is a good start for improving our nation’s situation it by no means is a panacea. A challenge for future government officials is to regain the trust of the people.  The above stages of suggestions will help, but if the government is to gain full trust and respect, there seems no better way than increasing the transparency of the government budget.  By increasing the transparency of the budget, citizens will be able to convince themselves if the government is spending tax money in the most efficient manner instead of having to take politicians’ word on the matter.  Another benefit to making government expenditures more transparent is to provide individuals with a sense of power through knowledge of the policies and functionality of their government.  Citizens will most likely respond to such power with direct activism and higher interest in governmental policies and spending.  Such bottom-up pressure is needed especially to keep policy makers and government officials focused not only on the current welfare of its citizens, but the welfare of future generation as well.

Limiting deficit spending of the government without rigorously establishing a zero tolerance for deficit spending can only work if citizens become more actively engaged in governmental policy and actions. A limited deficit spending policy seems to be the most promising at our current juncture in history. Our spending policy needs to remain as equally dynamic as the many factors influencing our economy, in order for our nation to acclimate to various economical climates; such acclimation is healthy economically and politically.  Implementing a limited spending policy and effectively enforcing that policy through active engagement of citizens, provides an ideal degree of plasticity within our economy at this current time. The only limiting factor concerning this policy is the degree of involvement by citizens. The encouragement of public education concerning the economy, governmental policies, and activism is imperative if we are to have any aspirations for the future.