2006_2

2006-2 In recent decades, entitlement programs have constituted a substantial portion of the United States federal budget. Social Security is the largest entitlement program in the US. From the information in the chart above, and your knowledge of the US government and politics, perform the following tasks.
(a) define entitlement program
(b) What is the primary source of revenue for the Social Security program
(c) Identify one threat to the future of the Social security program should the trends depicted in the chart continue
(d) Describe on demographic trend that threatens the future of the Social Security program and explain how it is responsible for the threat that you identified in (c )
(e) Explain how any one of the trends in the chart above would change if the age of eligibility for social security were raised.

a) Entitlement programs are government- sponsored programs providing mandated benefits to those who meet eligibility qualifications.
b) The primary source of revenue for social security include payroll taxes.
c) One threat to Social Security would be that the outputs exceed the inputs.
d) A demographic threatening trend is the longer life expectancy in old people causing younger Americans to have to pay for them longer, while still paying for all the younger old people.
e) If people were to work longer, less money would be given to old people and more money would go into the trust fund.

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