Since its independence, America has developed various New Deal Programs geared towards enhancing its people's lives. The programs have significantly impacted the development of various sectors of the economy and individuals' lives. One of the programs developed was Social Security Act, a program that has contributed immensely to retirees and underprivileged Americans' livelihood. The paper will offer an analysis of the Social Security Act program, the reasons for its enactment, its effectiveness, and the causes of its declining trend.
Social Security Act was created due to widespread suffering among the Americans caused by the Great Depression. The program was designed to form the basis through which the government could provide income security for unemployment security, Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and old-age insurance programs ( Gustman & Steinmeier, 2015) . The program was to be financed by contributions of the working population through tax deductions. The contribution made by the working generation was to finance retired people who were to be paid on monthly allowance terms. Social security bill covered, old-age pension program, unemployment insurance that was to be funded by employers, health insurance for Americans experiencing financial distress, and financial aid for disabled individuals and widows with children.
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The deal's enactment's primary purpose was to protect aged and disabled people against life challenges such as disease and poverty. The Act stipulated that individuals who were no longer engaging in regular employment were to be paid retirement benefits ( Kuitto, 2016) . Nonetheless, the program was intended to help children grow up healthy and secure. Under the Act, the workers who did not qualify for retirement benefits and not insured under the program were to be paid a lump sum of 3.5% upon their death to help their dependence ( Kuitto, 2016) . The program was also envisioned to offer social assistance to individuals and families who relied on charities, government, and private citizens for their needs. Notably, it covered widows' needs with children and disabled individuals who relied mainly on social assistance.
Social security was quite effective in the eradication of poverty, especially among the elderly in America. Gustman & Steinmeier (2015) outlined Social Security benefits resulted in the uplifting of relatively 15 million elderly Americans from poverty. The program also helped in financing people who faced higher poverty levels during their old age and working lives. The scheme helped enhance income among the Latinos and Black, whose poverty level was estimated at 2.5 times that of Whites.
Social Security is currently experiencing problems due to demographic changes. Born between 1946 and 1964, the baby boomers are presently retiring, whereas the working population is reducing ( Kuitto, 2016) . Such resulted in a trend in declining worker-to-beneficiary level. The American birth rate has reduced, and the viable population has a small number of children. With this trend, the amount of money contributed to social security decreased. It is projected that it will not be able to cater to retirees' retirement benefits.
References
Gustman, A. L., & Steinmeier, T. L. (2015). Effects of social security policies on benefit claiming, retirement and saving. Journal of Public Economics , 129 , 51-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2015.07.005
Kuitto, K. (2016). From social security to social investment? Compensating and social investment welfare policies in a life-course perspective. Journal of European Social Policy , 26 (5), 442-459. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0958928716664297
