Concept of Judicial Philosophy, Social Security, and Political Realism in the U.S.

Judicial philosophy is a concept that refers to the way judges understand and interpret the law in relation to the specific cases they are handling. This concept emerges from the fact that while laws are universal and broad, they need to be applied to specific cases based on the judge's understanding and interpretation of the law as well as the unique circumstances surrounding the case. The two most common judicial philosophies of the Supreme Court are judicial activism and judicial restraint, which have influenced various cases including Gore vs. Bush (2000) and Obergefell vs. Hodges (2015). Judicial activism refers to a philosophy in which judges depart from conventional precedents to adopt new, progressive social policies whereas judicial restraint is a philosophy in which judges limit the exercise of their own authority (Bendor, 2011).

Judicial activism of the Supreme Court influenced cases like Gore vs. Bush (2000) since judges failed to enable Florida to determine who won the Presidency but instead handed it to George W. Bush. In this case, the Supreme Court took an active role in resolving this political problem and failed to protect the principle of the preeminence of states' rights (Toobin, 2010). On the other hand, judicial restraint influenced Obergefell vs. Hodges (2015) since the court determined that gay marriage is protected by the Constitution based on the Fourteenth Amendment. In this case, the Supreme Court limited the exercise of its own power on the premise that the Constitution does not provide an explicit right to marriage, but gay marriage is a fundamental right in the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection rights (Michaelson, 2015).

Social Security is a trust fund that contains monetary reserves for survivors, the elderly, retirees and disability insurance programs (Fox Business, 2016). This trust fund has continued to play a crucial role in promoting the well-being of survivors, the elderly, retirees, and disabled individuals in the American society. However, the trust fund has become a politically controversial topic in the recent past since its funded by payroll taxes on wages. In light of the debates and issues relating to Social Security, it is possible for the fund to run out within the next ten years or so. According to Sahadi (2016), Social Security will only have adequate revenue to pay 79% of promised benefits and run out by 2034. This is primary because its two trust funds i.e. retirement and disability funds are likely to reach exhaustion by 2034 if lawmakers don't act (Regnier, 2015).

There are several options to help prevent Social Security from running out and keep it going for future generations including increasing taxation and lessening benefits. Social Security could be kept going for future generations through gradual increase of payroll tax rate and increasing or eliminating the limit on Social Security taxable wages. The other option could be to reduce its benefits for wealthy or high-income retirees, increase the full retirement age, and utilizing a slower-growth index for cost-of-living adjustments' calculations (Fox Business, 2016). The most politically realistic option is increasing taxation because benefits cuts are largely unpopular given the significance of Social Security to retirees and other beneficiaries. Additionally, increased taxation is more popular among the various options for Social Security reforms and improvements.

The theory of moral idealism is a philosophy in which individual rights are regarded as universal, particularly from a moral perspective. In this case, individual rights must be protected regardless of the costs and outcomes of the process. Moral idealists tend to emphasize the existence of natural harmony of people's interests based on the belief that humans are fundamentally uniform (Wilson, 2011). On the contrary, the theory of political realism refers to a political philosophy in which power is considered as the primary or ultimate goal of political action (Moseley, n.d.). From a domestic perspective, this theory emphasizes that politicians should focus on maximize on their power. However, in the international arena, the theory of political realism emphasizes that nation states are the primary agents that should maximize their power as they pursue their interests.

The United States is seemingly a country that adheres to the theory of political realism rather than moral idealism. This is evident in the nation's international relations philosophies and strategies, particularly when handling international conflicts. In this regard, America's compliance with political realism is shown in the overwhelming belief that her military entanglement in international conflicts should be for the advancements and protection of the nation's self-interests (Schnurer, 2013). This implies that America focuses on maximizing its power and pursuing self-interests in the international arena, which is an indicator of adherence to the theory of political realism.

References

Bendor, A.L. (2011). The Relevance of the Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint Discourse. Tulsa Law Review, 47(2), 331-337.

Fox Business. (2016, August 2). Is the Social Security Trust Fund Running Out of Money? Fox. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2016/08/02/is-social-security-trust-fund-running-out-money.html

Michaelson, J. (2015, June 27). Did the Four Dissenting Justices in Gay Marriage Case Just Suggest Treason? Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/did-the-four-dissenting-justices-in-gay-marriage-case-just-suggest-treason

Moseley, A. (n.d.). Political Realism. Retrieved from The University of Tennessee Martin website: http://www.iep.utm.edu/polreal/

Regnier, P. (2015, July 22). What Happens if the Social Security Trust Fund Runs Out in 2034? Time. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://time.com/money/3967821/social-security-trust-fund-2034/

Sahadi, J. (2016, June 22). Social Security Trust Fund Projected to Run Dry by 2034. CNN. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/22/pf/social-security-medicare/index.html

Schnurer, E. (2013, September 10). The End of U.S. Idealism. U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/eric-schnurer/2013/09/10/syria-shows-the-us-has-lost-its-idealism -- and-moral-high-ground

Toobin, J. (2010, December 6). Precedent and Prologue. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/06/precedent-and-prologue

Wilson, P. (2011). Idealism in International Relations. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/41929/1/Idealism%20in%20international%20relations%20(LSERO).pdf