I am a 26-year-old US citizen, and my faith in the Social Security Administration (SSA) is, sadly, almost nonexistent. Every year, approximately 12% of my hard-earned income is taken away in the form of social security tax. I wonder, will I ever see even a dollar of this money when I retire? The odds, it appears, are stacked against me.

More and more young people like me fear that the system set up to support our elders and us in the future may simply crumble before we get a chance to benefit from it. According to the SSA's 2020 Trustee Report, the cost of social security programs is expected to exceed total income in 2021 and will remain higher for 75 years. The depleting social security reserves are set to become exhausted by 2034, spinning us into an uncertain future.

There's a serious need for change, and that's why we must push for the choice of opting out of paying social security tax. The change will grant us the liberty to invest our money according to our financial goals, such as setting up a personal retirement account. This initiative aims not to abolish the complete SSA system, but to provide financial autonomy to the citizens to strategize their own retirement plans.

We can't let our hard-earned money be claimed unjustly. Support the change. Empower our financial independence. Let's demand a choice to opt out of paying the social security tax. We urge you to sign this petition and pass it along to your friends and family.