Kevin McCarthy, the debt limit, and spending cuts - AMAC & The Washington Post
Eugene Scott of The Washington Post writes that if Republicans win control of the House, the GOP will use raising the debt limit as leverage to force spending cuts — which could include cuts to Medicare and Social Security. He quotes Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who said, “You can’t just continue down the path to keep spending and adding to the debt. And if people want to make a debt ceiling [for a longer period of time], just like anything else, there comes a point in time where, okay, we’ll provide you more money, but you got to change your current behavior. We’re not just going to keep lifting your credit card limit.”
Whether entitlement programs, which are on a sort of automatic pilot given that they are mandatory spending, would be affected remains to be seen. McCarthy said he will not “predetermine anything.” Nothing in this piece acknowledges or even advocates for Social Security or Medicare reform, even though both face looming insolvency. The article focuses on the debt limit, and you can read the entire piece here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved with no tax increases by changing cost of living adjustments, the retirement age, and delayed credits. AMAC advocates for a bipartisan compromise, “The Social Security Guarantee Act,” taking selected portions of bills introduced by former Rep. Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own research. One component is Social Security PLUS, a voluntary plan to allow all earners to have more income 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 staffs over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.