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Save Social Security Now
Save Social Security now says Charles Blahous, but a chorus of so many others mouth those words too. Yet there has been no action since “the grand bargain” that President Reagan, Speaker Tip O’Neill, and others struck in 1983 to do just that. As Blahous notes, “Social Security costs are rising faster than our economic capacity, workers’ living standards are growing more slowly than beneficiaries’, the program facilitates some undesirable transfers of income from poor to rich, and the younger generations who already face large net-income losses through Social Security are those who would bear the brunt of any new taxes.” He also notes that politically, a compromise reform package that could win enough Republican and Democratic votes would almost certainly have to contain a mixture of moderating benefit growth, adjusting the retirement age upwards, and increasing tax revenue.
Social Security and those who depend on benefits desperately need responsible bipartisan leadership. Blahous hopes our elected leaders, and at least one of those seeking the presidency in 2020, will provide it. Read full editorial here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved by making modest changes in cost of living adjustments and the retirement age, with no additional taxes on workers. AMAC advocates for a bipartisan compromise, “The Social Security Guarantee Act,” taking selected portions of bills introduced by former Rep. Johnson (R-TX) and Rep. Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own well researched ideas. One component is Social Security PLUS, a new yet voluntary early retirement plan that would allow all earners to have more income available at retirement. This component is intended to appeal especially to younger workers. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved and modernized and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in DC, meeting with a great many congressional offices and their legislative staffs over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.