by Logan Scisco
In the United States, the Democratic Party is attempting to paint the Republican Party as mean spirited and warning voters that if the Republicans take control of Congress this November they will privatize Social Security. This tactic is meant to rally elderly voters, who vote more than any other group, to the polls on Election Day. Social Security is referred to as the third rail in American politics because it is such a deadly issue for politicians to confront. However, all experts agree that without changes in its structure, Social Security and America’s dreams of a government pension in old age are likely to go the way of the dodo.
Like the United States, government pensions were seen by European nations and their citizenry as sacred trusts whereby the government would provide for elderly citizens in their old age. Politicians who dared question the sustainability and cost of these pension programs were seen as anti-elderly and insensitive. However, rising budget deficits and crushing national debt burdens have finally forced European nations to deal with their aging populations. Some, like Great Britain, are confronting the problem voluntarily while others like Greece have been forced to reform their generous pension systems.