Indeed, I think most Americans now know that in 1935 when Social Security was created, there were some 42 Americans working for every American collecting retirement benefits.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
From the employees' standpoint, in 1935, Social Security was a big gamble. Employees would be required to participate in the program, contributing a percentage of their income for their entire adult working life.
Americans used to be able to depend on their jobs to provide a stable retirement.
Today there are about 40 million retirees receiving benefits; by the time all the baby boomers have retired, there will be more than 72 million retirees drawing Social Security benefits.
The reality is that the workforce relative to the number of people retired has shrunk and today in America there are only 3.3 working Americans paying payroll taxes to support each individual currently retired and collecting Social Security taxes.
Social Security is the only thing most Americans can count on to keep them out of poverty during retirement.
Before Social Security existed, about half of America's senior citizens lived in poverty.
Social Security not only helps Americans enjoy a secure retirement, it has also kept millions of Americans out of poverty.
Social Security is the very foundation of retirement security for millions of Americans.
According to the Social Security Administration, in 1945, 41.9 workers supported each individual retiree, while today only 3.3 workers support each retiree. This system cannot continue.
In 1935, the year Social Security was created, the poverty rate for seniors was over 70%.
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