The Illusion of Entitlement in an Era of Shrinkage
Newsweek reports on upcoming Social Security payments, noting that some beneficiaries could receive up to $5,181 this week. The article frames these disbursements as a straightforward financial update, focusing on the mechanics of payment schedules and maximum benefit amounts for those who retired at full retirement age or later, had high earnings, and contributed consistently. This surface-level
reporting, however, sidesteps a critical historical context. Social Security, a product of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in 1935, was designed as a social insurance program, not merely a retirement savings account. Yet, since the 1980s, bipartisan consensus shifted towards emphasizing individual account solvency over collective social welfare. The 1983 amendments, for instance, raised
the full retirement age and increased the portion of benefits subject to income tax, effectively curtailing future payouts and taxing a component of income that had previously been exempt. Consider the contrast: while this week’s maximum payment is highlighted, the average retiree benefit is roughly $1,900, barely enough to cover basic living expenses in many parts of the country, especially when
inflation is considered. The Congressional Budget Office projects that Social Security's trust funds will be depleted by the mid-2030s, a narrative consistently pushed by those advocating for cuts to benefits, implicitly blaming recipients rather than decades of fiscal policy that prioritized tax cuts for the wealthy and increased military spending over social programs. This framing conveniently