An Economic History and Model for Re-organization

Before writing an argument about an idea almost completed integrated into life as we know it, one that is so generally accepted that governments all over the world attempt to achieve it by carrying out a wide-range of systems supported by an even more heterogeneous set of institutions, it is useful to exercise the collegiate task of defining the words that form the greater idea. Social Security then, comes from two Latin words, social is derived from a word meaning companion or friend, and security is derived from a word meaning an absence of care. It should be deduced that the idea of social security refers simply to the intervention of a friend when there is an absence of care. But as nature is always seeking a more disorganized 'natural' state, and man in his conquering of nature is always seeking to be more organized, so he is inclined to drive his institutions to a higher level of complexity to maintain his claim to being civilized. The idea of social security has followed this path since its inception, and before addressing the current need to reorganize the system in the United States; it is necessary to examine the economic hi

Liberty is the foundation of our world; its future lies in a boundless emphasis on individual responsibility, which is the only way to guarantee the free pursuit of life, health and happiness: the basic tenets of social security.

Two stages of social security laws known as the 'Poor Laws' would set the stage for the current ideological struggle between social values and the rights of the individual, which continually shapes American policy-making.

The first notable change appeared in the 3rd Century B.C.E. when Greeks began to organize along two different paths. The first began in smaller city-States, where kinship ties gave way to localities as the responsible party not only for burial rites, but for the sick and aged also. The institution they created was a common 'strong-box' into which everybody paid a monthly contribution of their income tracked by a committee of trusted individuals, and was able to draw upon the common pool and remove their share in the event that they fell upon poor health or harsh times (Parrot, 12). "Hence the extension of the principle of contributory social security from death to the more general adversities of life may be said to have taken place by the third century B.C. Committee organization grew out of the need to guard against the abuse of the fund, through this new separation of functions (Parrott, 12)." Concurrently, big city-states like Athens attempted to develop a non-contributory approach based on the concept of citizenship. The state was to function as an extended family, this is perhaps the beginning of the idea of the word social as a friend or companion in our Latin definition being stretched to include the state, "...an extended friendship between the young and old, rich and poor, embracing the human race (Parrot, 13)." The inherent problem with this non-contributory system was the redistributional qualities it introduced. An ill-defined definition of who should be classified as poor led to many taking advantage of loopholes in the system. To counteract these abuses, the leaders of Athens created a fund with permanent officers (perhaps history's first social security bureaucrats). People either paid into the fund voluntarily or compulsory levies were placed upon the wealthy. The fund was used to distribute the necessities of life: corn, oil and money evenly to all citizens with no attempt to ascertain need. "Inscriptions of the period show how bureaucracy proliferated once the city-State took a hand. Regulations were laid down and rules had to be made. Control over the supplies of corn and oil, which had to be imported in large quantities, proved especially difficult because the merchants were mostly non-citizens, and they were strongly suspected of causing artificial shortages to inflate their profits (Parrott, 14)." The system worked better than other comparable models of its day, but providing for all people, especially sick and aged was especially difficult.

Any good discussion putting forth a new model or idea to address an area of concern will also include a discussion as to the possible weaknesses of the proposed model. But due to length constraints, this discussion must be tabled, and the proposed model must accept its own deficiencies in silence.

Long-term fiscal viability of the system has been under intense scrutiny because expenditures are on course to out-grow revenues somewhere within the first quarter, if not the first half of the 21st Century. The impending fiscal deficit can be attributed largely to the pay-as-you-go system. Those economically inactive are paid from the working class. Originally, the designers of American social security worked on the idea that full and steady employment would be a long-term feature of the economy. They had no reason not to believe that the United States that survived WWII as the world hegemon would remain an unbridled bastion of economic prosperity through the foreseeable future. Forecasted econom

Some common words found in the essay are:
Baby Boom, Savings Retirement, Social Security, Roman Empire, BC Committee, Laissez Faire, Abraham Lincoln, Nationalization Healthcare, Speenhamland Laws, Laws' Setting, social security, 'strong box', idea social, security system, idea social security, social security system, poor laws', social security policy, poor laws, non-contributory system, sick aged, westport ct, guilds merchant, 'old poor laws', american social security,
Approximate Word count = 4199
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page double spaced)