What was a significant flaw of the social security act?

Answer 1

One of the most important flaws of the social security act is that you have a maximum amount you can earn without penalty if you begin drawing your social security before your reach full retirement age. Why does the government want to penalize a person for earning more than the maximum amount allowed when, in fact, the more a person earns the more he will pay into social security. With the threat of social security going broke, you would think the government would encourage an early retiree to go back to work and earn as much as they want in order to put more into the social security fund.

Answer 2

I'm not aware of any problems with the original Social Security Act of 1935. It provided income for disabled and retired workers and their dependents - currently, 40% of the income of persons aged 65+ comes from SSA - temporary income for unemployed persons, and a minimum income for indigent persons who met other eligibility requirements such as age. It was one of the best pieces of legislation in the US in the 20th Century.

Over the years, unemployment insurance benefits have been routinely extended during recessions, which has required the use of tax funds. The Social Security retirement program has developed actuarial problems due to factors such as increasing life spans, decreasing numbers of wage earners making contributions to the system and lowering the age of eligibility from 65 to 62.

Answer 3

It did not apply to domestics or farmworkers at first.

Answer 4

It didn't allow people to eat toast.