Jack LaLanne passed away this week at the age of 96. Jack LaLanne brought the message of exercise as a critical function of everyday life down to earth for the everyday American. He kept working out and being physically active, and it seems as if he was able to extend his lifespan. His routines changed as his body and overall health changed, but the commitment to staying active never changed. His tenure on this planet, by most measures, was a success.
Social Security was enacted in 1937 during the FDR administration to provide security for those most at risk, at a time when jobs were moving outside of homes and into offices and factories. By most accepted measures, the system will remain 100% solvent until 2041, assuming no changes are made at all to the benefits. The program would then expire. At that point, Social Security would have provided a minimal level of financial support and some dignity to our seniors for 4 generations. While some may preach that Social Security has been a failed experiment, I see a program that worked for almost 100 years. I think that anything that has worked for almost 100 years cannot be fairly described as a failure.
Maybe with some hard work and some sacrifice, we can extend the lifespan of Social Security. Change the Social Security ‘routines’ now that it is older, and let’s keep the patient alive for many more generations to come. We can debate how to do this. I will not budge on the premise that we have to do it.
I have the positivity of Jack LaLanne with me on this one (although I recognize that things didn’t work out so great for him in the end…). Hopefully, Social Security will not suffer a similar fate.
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