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The American Dream is Alive

July 4, 2016 • By

Reading Time: 2 Minutes

Last Updated: July 4, 2016

Multiethnic Group of Friends with United States FlagNow, more than ever, is a good time to reflect on diversity to build a better future, as a unified nation. Let’s celebrate our differences without forgetting our fundamental likeness. We are all Americans who believe in freedom and democracy for all.

This is what the American dream is all about. Everyone deserves a comfortable retirement, free of economic hardship.

Social Security has retirement benefits and the tools to help you plan for your retirement, and to apply for benefits online. We also provide disability benefits to individuals with medical conditions that prevent them from working. If the disabled individual has dependent family members, they can also receive payments.

If you or anyone you know is disabled, they may qualify for disability benefits. Studies show that a 20-year-old worker has a one-in-four chance of becoming disabled before reaching full retirement age. To see if you meet our strict definition of disabled, read our publication Disability Benefits.

Widows, widowers, and their dependent children may be eligible for Social Security survivors benefits. Social Security helps by providing income for the families of workers who die. In fact, 98 of every 100 children could get benefits if a working parent dies. And Social Security pays more benefits to children than any other federal program. Go online to learn more about Social Security’s survivors benefits.

Honoring each other begins with fair and equal treatment. Social Security guarantees that, if you pay into the system and meet our eligibility requirement, you will receive the benefits due to you. We want to make sure our diverse nation is covered, that everyone gets the benefits they deserve, and that no one is left out. Visit www.socialsecurity.gov to learn more.

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About the Author

Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications

Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications

Comments

  1. Debra T.

    How will Ttrump”s tax initiative affect my SS monthly earning?

  2. Joni

    Hello there,
    I am very confused if ss is going away along with the benefits. What is the truth will I have SS when I retire in 5 years.
    What news do I believe?
    Thank you Joni Bommelyn

    • Vonda V.

      Hello Joni, thanks for using our blog. Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system. Social Security taxes collected from today’s workers pay the benefits of today’s retirees. Any funds in excess of what is needed to pay today’s benefits are invested in special issue, U.S. Government, interest-bearing securities. This investment –the purchase of U.S. Government securities– is what constitutes the “borrowing” that people are sometimes concerned about. Any funds that have been “borrowed” from the Social Security Trust Funds have always been paid back in full, plus interest.

      Please check out our Trust Fund Frequently Asked Questions page for more information. Thanks!

  3. Cookie

    Over 70% of ALL employment in FL has been given to undocumented illegal and documented legal aliens in the last 15 years. Is this the diversity you speak of? Diversity won’t matter in a few years, because the USA will belong to the Spaniards again.

  4. Cookie

    You are NOT exactly correct. A matter of fact, you are very off base. Diversity is the tool that is SEPARATING this nation into battles amongst political parties that none could have ever imagined. Furthermore, I can attest that the LGBT community existed since the early 1970’s and way before, especially in S.F. and N.Y. A good majority of LGBT were ALWAYS and ALWAYS employeed with some of the HIGHEST PAYING JOBS. Do your homework! Because you do NOT know what you are talking about. Young people are clueless of what is “The American Dream.” The dream that diversity is “Freedom and Democracy” is so far far fetched. Freedom is the sacrifice that men and women made for you and me in WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the future war of WWIII that is forthcoming if the Democrats get back into office.

    You are a few decades behind since 1) We have been reflecting on diversity since the 1970’s, and where has it gotten us thus far? Unity does ‘not’ happen overnight, nor does it happen because of diversity. The word Unity itself means, “Continuity without deviation or change.” So whose side is going to change? The good or the evil? There is so much evil in the USA today that we have lost allies because of it, and we lost the respect of other nations and are laughed at because of our ‘diversity’. Think about this, “Why do you think the Muslims want to wipe us off the face of the earth?” The Muslims are unified because they all have the same beliefs. A better future comes from loving one another and seeing eye-to-eye on the important things that matter in life, like family, children, the elderly, the sick and dying, etc. etc. You cannot have unity when the family no longer matters, when children are discarded as trash or used as medical experiments, or when our elderly are disregarded and putdown, and lastly but not least, when dying are subjected to euthanasia because they are an expense or are useless. Your statement is so so so very vague that someone probably taught you this statement, and because everyone can publish anything online, so did you. I would almost guarantee, this is not your own thinking. If there is so much fundamental likeness, then why are we so divided? Why do so many people hate Christians, Jews, Catholics, and anything religion. You might say it is a good try, however, until something drastic happens (again besides 911 that was very short-lived) that brings us all together, there will be no unity as long as there is so much hate in the world, and there is plenty of it.

  5. Rabby

    We all need to respect the diversity of others and help people live better lives – and that sometimes means helping people out with financial assistance. It is what makes a nation progressive, and it is the ethical way to live. Benefits should only be for those people that really need them – the key is to set the standards so that the right people get what they need.

  6. Jesse C.

    For those of us having to pay a Medicare Part b Penalty. Why can not our benefit statement break down our medicare part b cost into two parts? 1. Premium amount;
    2. Penalty Amount.

    Thanks ,

    Jesse C.

  7. Martha S.

    American dream is on its Deathbed, because high taxes and regulations are Killing small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy!
    Fake low unemployment rate, because all the millions of Americans who have given up seeking jobs are Not counted!!
    Neither Hillary or Trump have a record of helping the economy, but only their own wealth!
    Seems that Trump has hired more illegals than citizens, and has been sued many times for Not paying them properly!!

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