Saving Social Security — The Future..
Social security and its future are one of the most controversial issues discussed in politics today, with many different views and outlooks taking center stage. The law that was designed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the elderly and provide services and compensation to them in retirement finds itself in a completely different context today than it was seventy years ago.Yet, change is nothing new�”it is a daily occurrence that has affected social security before, and that will continue to affect social security in the future. Understanding both sides of the issue of social security is vital to ensuring a positive future for this country.
Briefings On The Beginning
The beginnings of social security can be traced back to the tragedy of the nineteen thirties�”the Great Depression. It was passed as part of the New Deal, and was very controversial at the time because it was believed that it would lead to a loss of jobs. Yet, the program prevailed. Payroll taxes were first collected in 1937, and retirement benefits were paid that same year.
Changes Throughout The Years
The Social Security Act has proven to be a very flexible program, as it has been altered and changed several times over the years. This is not surprising when taking into consideration the dramatic changes that have occurred in the workforce since its original implementation. The act was expanded in 1939 to encompass farmers and to provide benefits to spouses. Medicare was added in the 1960s. More changes were made in the seventies and eighties. If it was changed in the past, what is stopping it from being changed to meet the needs of the future?
The Problem Of People
Currently, 163 million workers are earning Social Security protection, and Social Security provides benefits to about 50 million people. The future problems associated with Social Security revolve around changing demographics. While the average remaining life span of a 65 year old in 1935 was about 12 years, it is currently 18 years. This increase in average life span is one of the major factors contributing to the uncertainty of the future of Social Security.
Another factor is the retirement of the baby boomer’s. The fifties and early sixties saw a huge increase in reproduction, and it is these offspring who will be retiring beginning in the next several years. At the same time that Social Security will need to accommodate more retirees, the amount of people paying taxes on Social Security will decrease from 3.3 people per retiree today to 2.1 people per retiree in 2032. It is the combination of these problems that is causing the panic regarding Social Security’s future.
Solving The Problem
There are many solutions being discussed regarding the Social Security program, and each of them would mean a trade off for Americans. Two of the solutions are somewhat obvious: increase the payroll tax, and decrease the amount of services provided to beneficiaries. These solutions would have obvious ramifications, and might only cause more problems for the future of Social Security than they would solve.
Another possible solution is to allow for early investment in Social Security in the form of a “pre funding” voluntary Social Security savings account. Although workers are currently unable to contribute to their Social Security funds before they retire, this proposal would allow them to do so. Critics say this plan would be expensive to manage, and it would be risky for beneficiaries as well.
A Middle Ground
Just as with any important issue, it would be nearly impossible to find a solution that would please everyone. Yet, the past of Social Security gives some hope for its future. If Social Security was fluid enough to be changed in the past, then we can have faith that it will be strong enough to handle any future changes.
Lebanese News: Getting A Clear Picture From The Middle East
The top news of the day reaches millions of people daily via the Internet. You can catch up with the geo-political and environmental issues, as well as the latest Lebanese news sprinkled with interesting blogs and videos chronicling the lighter side of life about the people, culture, and events in Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece, Israel and more.The Advantage of Getting News Online
Reading the morning’s newspaper over a cup of coffee is a time-honored ritual. But the Internet has changed all that. The newspaper is contested by online news that include riveting videos and virtual tours. The “close encounter” experience heightens your satisfaction of reading Lebanese news and international summits for global concerns. On top of all this, you are alerted to breaking headlines minute by minute.
Online sites provide access to the different headlines from several top Middle East newspapers churning out the day’s events from all over the globe. You can also have your choice of different Middle East newspapers and your daily dose of: World News, Lebanese News, Middle East News, Our Planet, and World Sports.
The different broadsheets - Nahamet News, Daily Star-News Briefs, Ya Liban News, Daily Star Local, and Google News Lebanon provide more than news. You can gloss over the editorials, interviews, technology, business, health, culture, classifieds, and entertainment. These always give the latest and most intriguing pieces on World News.
Unlike the newspaper that’s tossed to your proverbial lawn, your online news won’t be chewed up by the dog. Rain or sun and day or night, you have your news in your computer. A good Internet connection provides non-stop news feeds.
Getting the Best from Online News
The online sites are easy to navigate. The items are categorized according to blogs, newspapers, politics, business, Lebanese sports, and videos. All but the video and blog sections have drop-down menus to provide you a selection of newspapers. In the blogs section, the drop-down menu lists the bloggers of the different newspapers. For videos, you will be immediately directed to Yahoo! Videos.
If you are into Middle East news and want to say your piece about the events, you can post your comments about the press releases. The available chat feature and discussion forum instantly connects you to other Lebanese news aficionados.
If you’re looking to expand your business, or eyeing an opportunity in the import and export business, or simply looking for financially rewarding breaks, you can always go over the classifieds.
Thinking about someplace that offers a new experience? The Middle East should top your list. Hunt for the best place to stay by region, restaurants to dine in, and stores to scour for interesting trinkets, rugs, jewelry, and excellent wines in the newspapers’ directories. The transport and travel guide with a list of interesting places can help you map out your visit to the Middle East, where a fascinating mix of the cosmopolitan and eastern mystic continue to enthrall tourists.
Reading up on Lebanese news provides you another window to look at the picture of the Middle East. It is not all about political issues; it is also about learning how the other half survives in a time of turmoil, prosperity, and recovery. For the country’s expats, keeping up with the news is the best way to keep in touch with the homeland.
Giuliani Endorses McCain
Republican Rudy Giuliani gave in to the predictable inevitability of his flagging popularity and bowed out of the presidential race. He also endorsed John McCain, who is currently in the leading position. Giuliani’s move came after the disappointing third place he won at the recently held Florida primary; McCain, incidentally, emerged victorious. Giuliani’s endorsement has strengthened his association with McCain�”who often ran his campaign on similar issues related to national security.The former New York mayor extolled McCain, with whom he shares a close friendship, and termed him an ‘American hero’. “John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States,” he said. Giuliani had earlier said that McCain would be his choice for president, if he was not a running contender himself. Ostensibly referring to Romney, who has often criticized him for shifting positions, he also stated, “If I’d endorsed anyone else, you would say I was flip flopping.”
McCain, who stood beside Giuliani, responded by terming his friend and colleague as “my strong right arm and my partner”. He said, “This man is a national hero and I’m honored by his friendship.”
Giuliani, who had enjoyed a reigning position on popularity polls last year, was seen as a likely Republican nominee. However, his status started plummeting at the start of the year. The debacle at the Florida primary may have been the final straw that helped him decide to quit.
Earlier, addressing voters following his win at Florida, McCain had expressed a warm camaraderie with Giuliani, saying, “I want to thank my dear friend, my dear friend Rudy Giuliani, who invested his heart and soul in this primary and who conducted himself with all the qualities of the exceptional American leader he truly is.” He said, “Thank you, Rudy, for all you have added to this race and for being an inspiration to me and millions of Americans.”
The former mayor won much praise for his role in handling New York during the September 11 crisis. Popularly dubbed as the ‘Mayor of America’, Giuliani was banking on his 9/11 credentials to help him win the presidential race.
However, there were incongruities surrounding his candidature. As a republican, Giuliani held views that were almost moderate or liberal. Referring to his office as mayor of New York, Giuliani said that he created the most conservative government in one of the most liberal of cities in America.
Before joining politics Giuliani, was a reputed federal prosecutor who won fame for his role in legal proceedings against gang bosses and corrupt political figures. He won as mayor in 1993, after losing once in 1989. However, failure in winning any primaries, combined with a drop in popularity forced him to gracefully bow out of the race.
Ronald Reagan: Not just your average actor
No doubt, America’s 40th president Ronald Reagan is an actor by profession before crossing the verge of politics. He starred as actor cum host in General Electric Theater, a radio and television anthology series which features some of the greatest short story, play, novel adapted and portrayed with the likes of James Dean, Groucho Marx, Fred Astaire and other formidable actors of classic Hollywood. As the co-owner of the show, he became wealthy and famous, earning him a ticket for greater doors in showbusiness and politics in the future. Apart from General Electric Theater, he also appeared in Death Valley Days and since his departure from Warner Bros. he began to appear in B-movies making his career sag and lie-low.Before he became a tv actor, he first became a radio announcer in Iowa and Chicago. He took the screen test from Warner Bros. and got him a seven-year contract. He appeared in the film Knute Rockne, All American where his nickname “The Gipper” came from. He also starred in Kings Row, Tennessee’s Partner, Cattle Queen of Montana and The Killers in which his last film. His leadership is early emphasized being a Screen Actor’s Guild President from 1947-1952 facing various issues including labor-management disputes and Hollywood blacklisting. After serving America with pride, he died after his 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease at the age of 93. Even at the time of his death, he remained a great actor playing a vital role in the lives and history of the world as he created a major difference in terms of safer world.
Learning Politics in the Virtual World
I remember loving Sim City, in fact, construction games of all sorts. I spent hours of arranging elevators in Sim Tower, and built city after city in Caesar. I still love Railroad Tycoon, and am perfectly delighted to be laying track between Sapporo and Tokyo or Cairo and Cape Town in my free time for the tenth or twelfth time.Ultimately, though, there is something just a bit unsatisfying about building games. Fun as Sim City is, no question about it. But a simulation, it’s not, no, not really. Yes, the physical systems you invent interact and must coordinate or you will fail (in game terms), but they aren’t real. They aren’t real because you don’t have to deal with people.
“Politics,” Otto von Bismarck famously noted, “is the art of the possible.” He knew, and we all know, that ultimately to do anything you have to deal with people, and deal with them successfully, lest you find yourself voted out office, exiled, flung in prison, or strung up by your heels and shot. In Sim City, at worst you lose the game. In Railroad Tycoon you can get fired. It’s just not the same as real politics.
The best simulations are games where you have to deal with people as you make things that are bigger and better than anything you ever imagined you’d get to build. If you play games like World of Warcraft or the like you may have experienced a pale version of what I mean, because you have run into situations where you had to work with other people to do what you needed to do.
But there are other games out there. There are dozens based on the world of Pern, created by Anne McCaffery. You, and your allies…and the dragons you ride…must work together or die separately: actions you can influence and even lead.
Still more complex virtual worlds exist. Consider Firan (www.legendary.org/firan), an original, virtual, text-based world that has been running for over a decade. The world of the game, Aerval, contains several races of people but players play Firans, the good guys. The Firans have a feudal social structure: They are ruled by an absentee king and a Viceroy in his absence. Firans belong to one of eight clans, each with a clan leader, nobility, and commoners. Even ordinary citizens have a social class to look down on…the dregs of society who live in the Old City.
All the Firan clans have to unite annually to keep the evil Shamibelians at bay, and in between they have to govern and function in a simulated world, a world full not only of soldiers and lords, but also hunters and weavers, priests and poker players, entertainers and blacksmiths. If farmers don’t grow people don’t eat, if tailors don’t sew they go naked, and if they don’t find ways to put out fires the city burns.
The key difference between this game and Sim City is that the other people you encounter in the world are individuals with agendas of their own. They might be similar to yours, or completely different. They might be telling you the truth or they might be lying. They might be prepared to help you or prepared to hinder you, or prepared to say one thing and do the other!
The only way to get ahead is to learn and understand the reality of politics, to learn to understand and deal with people. And games like these are fun because there is no AI behind those people the way there is in Sim City…there are real intelligences played by real people for real reasons behind the people you need to deal with in such a world.
And the simplest way to learn how to understand and deal with people is to do it. That is what makes virtual reality games so valuable to us: They give us the chance to explore what we can and cannot do in ways that don’t result in prison, or misery. Or no more than virtual prison.
Sim City? I love it. Heckuva game. But if you want to have a real simulation of a society, find one where you have to deal with meat intelligences, not just artificial ones.