How Secure Are You?

The Social Security Act of 1935 helped save the economy after the great depression. However, although it revolutionized the idea of government control of the economy and financial assistance to the people, the program presented a few flaws. Originally intended for industrial workers, many people such as the self-employed and farm laborers were excluded from the retirement benefits. Even with many reforms throughout history, the social security system still remains corrupt. As explained in the YouTube video above, there is a large amount of social security surplus collected over the years. The money collected from the payroll tax exceeded the amount payed out in benefits to Americans. Therefore, as of  April of 2011, the social security surplus was at $2.5 million. The corruption deals with the surplus because the government is using Americans' money as part of the budget to pay off the war, tax, cuts, and foreign debts. Because the government is using this money to help reduce the national deficit, social security will eventually run out. As a result, congressman are trying to raise the retirement age so social security payments will be reduced, but all that is doing is cheating Americans out of their hard earned money acquired over the years. 

Alcohol Sickness

The political cartoon above, depicts a sick man representing the American people, strapped down on a table while being injected with "prohibition" by a doctor representing the Government. The cartoon is portraying Americans as being sick from alcohol abuse, but the government is remedying the problem by "injecting" the law of prohibition into the public. At the bottom it reads, "Yes, it's a noble experiment." Therefore, if alcohol is removed from society, then Americans will get better and stronger.

Modern Day Imperialism

An example of modern day imperialism that is similar to the American imperialism of the late 1800s, would be the dispute over the territory of South Ossetia in 2008, between the countries of Georgia and Russia. During the 1920s, Russia obtained Georgia and the northern region of Georgia called South Ossetia. However, after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Georgia became an independent nation and free from Russian influence. Nevertheless, in 2008, citizens of South Ossetia rebelled for their own independence from Georgia and to regain the original territory acquired by Russia. Georgian troops launched a major military offensive against Russia, but Russia responded by sending in troops to forcibly take the territory and make it part of its own as it once was. As a result, 1,400 people were killed, and the territory now belongs to the country of Russia. 

The Spanish Brute

This political cartoon depicts a fanged ape represented as a Spaniard, standing over the grave of the U.S. soldiers murdered by Spain. This cartoon was released after the sinking of the U.S.S Maine battleship which exploded in Havana Harbor. Although the most practical reason for the accident was improperly stored gunpowder, Americans quickly blamed the misfortune on Spain as an excuse to go to war. The picture depicts an ape which symbolizes that the Spaniards were inhumane and incompetent. The ape is holding a knife that is dripping with U.S. soldiers' blood, and it is stepping on an American flag which indicates that the Spaniards disrespect our country.