By Rev. Thomas C. Lacy Social Security (SS) is a critical political issue. Government officials are trying to find help for the beleaguered system. Some look to the current, so-called, wave of an economic up-turn to overcome SS’s ills. Others say contributors to the system should invest a portion of their own money elsewhere to insure secure futures. Privatization, some claim, is the solution.
The problem is they are killing the solution. None of these solutions will succeed in rescuing SS for the long term. The greatest deterrents to the growth of SS are abortion, RU-486 and Zero Growth Population movements to be addressed later.
According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration (SSA) and U. S., Bureau of Labor Statistics (LBS) about 154 million people will work in SS covered jobs or self-employment. The average income per worker in 1998 was $27,748 and the average reported taxable amount was $23,651. Multiplying the average taxable income by the combined SS (employee/employer) tax rate of 12.4%, we find $2,932.72 was the average paid into SS by each worker.
The U. S. Census Bureau, October 10, 2000, reported the population as 274,942,494. Statistically 56% of workers contribute to the SS plan, that is, 153,967,796 individuals paid into SS a total of $451,433,577,872 in 2000. Their combined total income was $7,672,328,791,988.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), a special research affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PP), this nation’s largest provider and promoter of abortions, reports since Roe vs. Wade (1973) more than 50 million abortions have occurred in the U.S. AGI has estimated a possible 3-6% rate of underreporting.
They (AGI) states, “Much less than 1% of the abortions were because of rape, incest, or because the mother’s life was in danger.” This factor, aside from the financial loss and burden to our nation poses a major Human Rights issue not addressed in this article. Based on this statistic, the largest number of abortions performed in the U. S. A. were performed for convenience.
Since Roe vs. Wade the total aborted reported by AGI from 1973 to 2000 was 38,266,820. Applying the 56% of the population paying into SS 21,429,419 would have worked had they not been aborted. Those aborted in 1974 (no figures available for 1973) would have entered the job market in 1992 at age 18. Those aborted in 1975 would have started working in 1975, etc.
For calculation simplification, current SSA figures will be used as average. The time span is from 1974 to 2000, corresponding with the abortion report; and 1992 to 2018, corresponding to the time those aborted would have started working.
In this illustration the wage earner received no raises in pay during the focus period. This will greatly lower the amount of loss to SS, but the totals are still staggering.
Those aborted in 1974 would have entered the job market in 1992 at age 18 and would have contributed 27 years during the focus period from 1992 to 2018. Progressively, those aborted in 1975 would have entered the job market in 1993 and would have contributed 26 years during the focus period. These calculations will continue following this digression rate.
These 21,429,418 workers would have paid into SS $847,606,223,640. Their combined income would have been $8,019,646,435,300. The net results are billions lost in SS and trillions lost in spendable wages.
Abortion, however, is not the only enemy of the SS system. Medications like RU-486 and organizations like Zero Population Growth (ZPG) are steadily working to reduce or prevent population increases.
RU-486 was approved for the American market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) September 28, 2000. It will take years to determine RU-486’s effect on the birth rate.
Zero Population Growth is a mind-set and a national movement. The name implies their goal.
Using AOL’s Net Find, 368 NGP-type organizations were identified with many advocating zero growth in population around the world in agreement with the U. S. A. setting an example according to the information found on their website.
Upon reading this, my first question was, “Where would these people be if their parents got the ZPG idea before they did?”
The Social Security system also encompasses social and spiritual issues. Many of our nations elderly, and those with health issues, depend on SS for primary and secondary support. It is also a spiritual issue encompassing sanctity of life concerns.
Life to some is incidental. Life to some it is accidental. However, many believe life has a Divine Origin. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 2:27 King James Version).
Life is real. Life itself is its own lifeline. And the human life cycle is the life-breath of the SS System. Zero Growth Population would eventually be the demise of the SS System – not to mention all human life.
No matter how good the economy, without new people paying into the SS System, SS cannot survive. Good economy doesn’t produce people, but people jointly can produce a good (great) economy that will produce a solvent SS System.
(Author’s Note: This article was drafted in 2000 when prognosticators forecasted Social Security would meet its demise in 2017 if the system was not revamped. To date, this System is still in jeopardy yet little has been done to abate this dilemma.)
Rev. Thomas (Tom) C. Lacy, Advisory Board Member of the Virginia Christian Alliance and Founder and Director, of New Hope Counseling Service.
