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Social Security and American Public Opinion
Frank Newport is a senior scientist at The Gallup organization. He examines a plethora of polling data on Social Security in this piece. For starters, Social Security isn’t called the third rail of politics for nothing. Americans consistently say that they want Social Security benefits retained with no cuts. But what Americans want can also run afoul of reality, and that of course is that changing demographics means Social Security must change, and soon. Read all of Newport’s poll findings here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has a reform plan to preserve and modernize Social Security by making modest changes in cost of living adjustments and a gradual increase in the full 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 current 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 Washington DC, meeting with a great many congressional offices and their legislative staffs over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.