Why Did the Roman Republic Fall?

On the Baby Boomer generation aging into retirement:

David Walker, the U.S. comptroller general, thinks failure to come to grips with that fundamental fiscal problem could hold the seeds of the U.S.'s demise. "The Roman Republic fell for many reasons," he has said, "but three reasons are worth remembering: declining moral and political civility at home, an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands, and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government."

Still, while demography may be destiny, that destiny is not unalterable. There are several economic developments that could lessen the burden of the boomers' sunset years.

One is more rapid growth in productivity. Once the boomers retire, the U.S. will have only two workers for every one person in retirement -- compared with four today. But if those workers are more productive than their predecessors -- perhaps because of better technology -- they can earn enough to finance the boomers' retirement and maintain the nation's wealth. The prospects for technology and productivity rescuing the day, however, have dimmed in the past year, as the government's measures of productivity growth have slowed.

{read the rest of the article at The Wall Street Journal}

One point mentioned was the age for Social Security to kick in. When Social Security was first created, the average lifespan was 65 years; this is why Social Security begins at that age. The amount was intended to supplement an income, not to become an income for the elderly. The average lifespan in the United States is now between 75 and 80 years.

Should United States citizens privatize Social Security? You'd only get back what you put into it. Selfishly, I wouldn't mind if Social Security was privatized, because I can forsee myself with a stable, well-paying career (at least, I hope this expensive college education will pay off!). I also do not wish to support those that have not chosen to be as productive as they could possibly be throughout their lives, at the end of their lives.

However, I don't believe that privatizing Social Security would be for the "greater good". The United States would have to create (and fund, which means more taxes!) new programs for those that are disabled or unable to work for whatever reason.

What about raising the age at which one is eligible for Social Security? I disagree with this, though it might be good for the masses. It could mean that I spend 65 years of my life working (around age 15 to 80?). Sixty-five years of obligation to a company. At what point would I burn out? At some point, I'd like to retire with enough years left to travel and to pursue volunteering interests.

The article raises an interesting point about young immigrants. If we allowed more working-age immigrants in, then we would have a broader base from which Social Security is drawn. What the article doesn't mention is that this is already happening. Immigrants come to the United States and sometimes have to use made-up or false SSN's to get jobs (if not legal citizens)*. Thus, money is often taken from their paychecks already--for programs that they are unable to take advantage of (if not legal citizens).

I know that this article has made me reconsider investing in the stock market.

Thoughts?



*The reason that I use the clause "if not legal citizens" is due to the fact that many immigrants ARE citizens. I think sometimes people forget that not all immigrants have arrived in the United States by illegal means.