Big Government, Robin Hood, and Social Security
Green New Deal. Free child care. Higher Social Security payments. Carrie Lukas, president of Independent Women’s Forum, writes here about a liberal zeal to expand government spending. Social Security’s long-term fiscal health is not good. The program will only be able to pay 79% of promised benefits under current law starting in 2034. Cuts will occur across the board without congressional action to shore up long term finances before then. It is curious, then, to see so many proposals that seek to expand the Social Security program rather than preserve and modernize it for future generations. Over 200 Democrats in the U.S. House have signed on to The Social Security 2100 Act, sponsored by Rep. John Larson (D-CT). It raises the wage cap and increases payroll taxes on all workers over time. But, younger workers have the highest poverty rates, and seniors have the lowest poverty rates overall, so the transfer from the young to the old does not make economic sense. As Lukas notes, “When government crowds out flexibility and innovation, it’s often those with lower incomes and less resources who tend to be hurt most.” Read her full piece here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has a different approach, making modest changes in cost of living adjustments and the retirement age, without additional tax increases 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.