Module 6: econ

In order to receive full credit for this discussion, you need to post (1) an answer of at least 100 words to at least one of the questions below, and (2) a substantive response of at least 50 words to a comment on this discussion board posted my another student. A substantive response is more than just saying you agree or disagree.  Explain why.

There are no correct answers.  As long as you participate as described above, you will receive full credit.  The goal is to motivate careful consideration and discussion of saving and investing for retirement and the roles of Medicare and Social Security.

Read materials for this module in the Reading folder.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

(I provided multiple questions to provide more options for your discussion.  You are not required to answer all of them, but you do need to post at least twice.)

Do we need Medicare and Social Security?  Is it reasonable to expect people to save and invest enough to cover all of their expenses in retirement, even unexpected medical costs?  Or is it fair to expect that people will need some financial assistance when they no longer have paying jobs? 

Is Social Security a Ponzi scheme, as 2012 U.S. Presidential candidate Rick Perry suggested? 

Are current Medicare and Social Security benefits too generous?  If so, who should receive fewer benefits?  Explain.

Should Medicare and Social Security benefits be expanded?  For example, the Medicare Modernization Act was advocated and approved in 2003 by President George W. Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress.  This law provides prescription drug benefits to Medicare beneficiaries and was designed to address the concern that many elderly people could not afford their medications.  (Some were forced to choose between food and prescribed drugs.)  But there are holes in the coverage that force some beneficiaries to pay their own drug costs.

Should Medicare and Social Security taxes be based on expected benefits?  Some people say they do not like paying taxes that provide benefits to other people.  Would it be fair to base payroll taxes on expected benefits?  If so, how would that work?  Should women, who have an average life span longer than men, pay higher payroll taxes because they will be eligible to receive benefits for a longer period of time (and thus receive more total benefits)?  Should African-Americans pay less in payroll taxes because their average life span is less than that of Whites (and thus they receive fewer total benefits than Whites)?

Please change the title of your response to reflect the main idea in the sentences that you post.

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