The Fairness of the Court System, Essay Example

The court system in the United States is supposed to give every citizen a forum to resolve legal issues, but this does not always mean that everyone who goes to trial in either civil or criminal court will receive a fair trial. One of the biggest impediments to a fair trial inthe United States is money, as the U.S. requires both parties in a trial to pay their own way. This could mean that a citizen charged with a crime may not be able to afford a strong legal defense, while the prosecutor has significant resources. It also means that an individual who hs been wronged may not be able to afford the cost of suing someone in civil court. A system that made it easier and less expensive for individuals to obtain strong legal representation could eliminate some of these problems.

One of the major problems that programs like Medicare and Social Security face are that they are both becoming increasingly expensive as people live longer. This means that they are paying out larger amounts in benefits and it also means that fewer younger taxpayers are paying into the system to support the costs of older retirees. Some proposed alternatives to the problems with Medicare include allowing individuals to divert their money from Medicare to private health insurance and to create Health Savings Accounts. For the issues with Social Security, the basic proposals include raising the retirement age to 70 so that individuals collect benefits later; reducing the amount of benefits received by high wage earners; and raising Social Security taxes. It seems likely that at least some combination of these approaches will be necessary to keep Social Security from becoming insolvent y the end of the decade.