Social Security Interview and Discussion, Essay Example

For this project I interviewed my uncle Christopher K., who is 58 years old. Christopher (or “Uncle Chris” as we call him) is known in our family as someone with strong views on politics, social issues, and current events. He has two children in college, and both of them are covered by his medical insurance. He was out of work for almost a year in 2010, and he and his family were recently able to acquire health insurance because of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). Christopher is a lifelong Democrat, and not surprisingly he is a strong supporter of programs like Social Security and Medicare. Christopher likes many of the provisions of the ACA, although he believes that the United States should adopt a single-payer health care system to ensure that all citizens are able to have coverage. Christopher will not be eligible or Social Security for a few years to come, but he does have some strong views on both subjects.

When asked if he thought that Social Security would not still exist when his children are reaching retirement age, Christopher responded that it was unlikely. The population of the United States is aging, and that means that more people will require access to the benefits of programs like Social Security and Medicare. This will mean, inhis view, that it would be politically unfeasible to do away with such programs, as that would lead to significant issues. Christopher is optimistic about the future, and believes that the current generation of children and young adults will grow up to have more liberal ideas about the role of government and the need for society to protect its most vulnerable citizens. As Christopher sees it, many of the problems associated with programs like Medicare and Social Security are really political problems rather than economic ones, and that it is simply a matter of prioritizing things differently to ensure that their costs can be covered. As he put it, a relatively small amount of the money we spend on the “bloated military budget” could be diverted to keeping Social Security and Medicare solvent for decades to come.

Christopher sees similar political issues with Medicare payments and doctors, and believes that the broken health care system underlies many of the problems we face today. He suggests that Medicaid should be expanded to cover all citizens, while those that wish to purchase additional coverage can do so themselves. A fair and equitable system that provided reasonable reimbursements would likely be accepted by most doctors. Christopher compared the current situation to other social issues like same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization, and predicts that society will evolve on health care issues just as they are evolving on these social issues.

As for the responsibility of government to care for the elderly, Christopher believes that it is appropriate for government to provide a reasonable and fair safety net for all citizens. We live in a society that offers many opportunities for people, and as he put it, “no one gets rich o their own.” The government builds roads and bridges, developed the Internet, provides legal protections for businesses, and offers a variety of other benefits that are available to everyone. Those that use these benefits to enrich themselves have a responsibility to contribute to improving and maintaining them. This includes making sure that society does not collapse under the weight of poverty and illness. As he sees it, a health care and retirement system that was fair and functional is a necessary component of a healthy society.

Regarding the question of children caring for their elders, Christopher describes how changing economic and social conditions make it less likely that children will even be in a position to do that. In earlier times, multi-generational families often lived together (or near each other) and cared for each other. In the 21^st century it is much less common for families to have only one wage-earner or to live in a situation where parents have many children and are taken care of by those children as they get older. This does not mean that children have no responsibilities to care for their parents; it means that they way they do this has changed and evolved. With so many family members working, it may be more appropriate to combine financial resources through taxes that can provide care for all of the country’s elderly population.