AMAC
CBS/YouGov Poll: Fixing Social Security Makes the High Priority List for 118th Congress
A nationally representative poll conducted last week by YouGov for CBS News posed the question of what should be the high priorities for the incoming Congress, and the top three responses were not a surprise: lowering inflation, protecting Social Security…
A Summary of Bi-Partisan Suggestions for the Social Security Dilemma
As the calendar continues to advance toward commencement of the 118th Congress, we’re seeing an uptick in reports of potential changes that could be considered to address this thorny and complex problem. In a post today on wfmz.com, The Motley…
An Argument for Age 70 Full Retirement Age
As the rhetoric heats up in advance of the 118th Congress and the potential heightening of interest in finally taking a serious look at resolving the long-known financial crisis facing Social Security, we’re beginning to see more and more news…
Social Security and the Debt Ceiling Argument
Douglas A. McIntyre, co-founder, chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of 247wallst.com sounds the alarm for Social Security in the midst of negotiations on the nation’s debt ceiling. In his post, which you can read in full here, McIntyre suggests that failure…
The Political Landmine That Social Security Regrettably Continues to be
There’s a reason almost no politician talks about reforming Social Security, even in the face of its looming insolvency. “Touch it, and you die” is the way most have described the program for decades. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is the…
Op-ed: Don’t Raise Retirement Age. But is that advice even possible?
That Social Security needs reform is generally not in dispute. Reasonable people on all sides usually differ over how to shore up the program, not whether it needs shoring up. But Alicia Munnell of MarketWatch curiously seems not to acknowledge…
Social Security’s Problems Should be Above Politics and Pandering
A plethora of bills are routinely introduced in every new Congress, mostly by Democrats, promising higher benefits, whether in the form of cost of living adjustments, one-time payments, or permanent minimum benefit increases. The problem with all of the proposals,…
Social Security Solvency: Sounding the Alarm (Again)
Meaningful Social Security reform has not actively been undertaken since the early 1980s, and the consequences are now evident. The program is now less than 15 years away from exhaustion of its once-considerable cash reserves–in fact, some creditable studies have…
A Preview of Potential Social Security Changes
As we’ve reported on this website persistently over the past several years, Social Security is facing a long-term solvency issue. Not bankruptcy, as the rumor mill frequently suggests, but rather the inability to fully pay the benefits promised to beneficiaries who…
The Debate on Payroll Tax Elimination
President Trump, in a Coronavirus Task Force briefing yesterday, discussed his thoughts on cutting and/or eliminating the payroll tax withheld by employers, thereby generating immediate financial relief for workers. The 7.65% payroll tax (6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare) represents…