Congress Is Running Out Of Time To Fix Social Security

 

Economists and politicians have been warning us for years that the Social Security system is in a financial crunch, and in a few years won't have enough money to fully pay benefits. Currently, it is expected that by 2030 the system will only be able to pay recipients about 80% of benefits.

That's not very far down the road, and if allowed to happen, it would be disastrous for the millions who rely solely on Social Security for their income -- especially those receiving the smallest benefit amount.

Both parties claim they want to fix Social Security, but they cannot agree on how to do it.

The Republicans don't want to fully fund the system. Instead they want to cut Social Security. They have proposed changing the formula for cost-of-living adjustments. Their new formula would reduce the amount of cost-of-living adjustments, making it even harder for seniors to keep up with inflation. This is a crazy idea, since many recipients already aren't able to keep up with inflation.

They have also proposed raising the age at which a worker can apply for benefits to 70 (or higher). That might be fine for bankers and CEOs -- people who don't need the benefits to begin with and are working jobs that are not physically strenuous. But for millions of workers, the ones who do actual physical labor, it would create a dire situation. After their bodies have forced them to retire, they would still have to wait years to get any benefits. How are they supposed to live?

The GOP solutions simply will not work for millions of workers. But there is another way, one that would be virtually painless to most Americans. 

Currently, the tax that funds Social Security is capped at the first $168,600 of income. Any amount of income over that is not subject to the tax. That means anyone making $168,600 would pay 6.2% of their income into the Social Security Trust Fund. Those making more than that would pay a smaller percentage of their income -- and the rich would pay a much smaller percentage.

By raising the cap to about $250,000, the Social Security system could be fully funded for many decades to come. It would not affect those already paying the full 6.2%, since they would not pay any additional tax. Those making between $168,600 and $250,000 would pay the same percentage as those making less, and the rich would still pay a smaller percentage than anyone else.

This way, the system would be fully funded and no benefits would be cut (or retirement age raised). And the seniors making less than the average benefit would be protected from creeping poverty. This is the way that makes sense!

Unfortunately, the Republicans won't go for it. They only care about the rich. They really don't care about the millions of Social Security recipients struggling to keep up with rising costs.

This means the only way for voters to insure the Social Security system is saved is to vote the Republicans out of office. Anyone who needs their full Social Security check each month would be crazy to vote for anyone but a Democrat for president and for Congress.