Congress
WEP-GPO Repeal: The Easy Way Out?
The Senate and House of Representatives have blessed the Social Security Fairness Act, and final enactment into law rests with President Biden. While he’s expected to sign the bill, there is a bit of speculation about the impact it will…
Floor Vote on H.R. 82 (WEP/GPO Repeal) Likely for November
The bipartisan discharge petition initiated by Rep. Garret Graves, R-La, and Rep. Abigal Spanberger, D-Va, has achieved the required number of signatures to force a floor vote. The Bill, titled “Social Security Fairness Act of 2023,” would, if passed, repeal…
Ask Rusty – Does Congress Pay into Social Security?
Dear Rusty: I’ve been told that members of Congress do not have Social Security deducted from their pay; Additionally, that their retirement dollars come from the Social Security Administration purse even if they only serve as a member of Congress…
Ways to alleviate Social Security’s Insolvency
Both Social Security and Medicare are popular with Americans on both sides of the aisle, but their is a deep divide on how to fix the situation. Some possibilities include, raising the tax limit, raising taxes, and raising the Full…
Social Security’s Insolvency: Is it Time to Self-Insure?
This week’s issue of the 2024 Social Security Trustees Report product with it a mixed message–a slight improvement in the date for total depletion of the program’s financial reserves, along with a reminder that the program remains on a path…
Ask Rusty – Future Retiree Worried About Social Security’s Future
Dear Rusty: I keep reading that the SSA will only be able to pay out 75% of benefits come 2033. If congress were to do nothing and this reduction in benefits occurred, would seniors already collecting benefits in 2033 have…
A Perspective on Social Security’s Looming Insolvency
We’re well inside of a decade until Social Security’s accumulated reserves disappear completely. The nearly $2.9 trillion financial cushion that has been dissipating steadily for the past two years is expected to evaporate completely by 2033–and some project that point…
On “Fixing” Social Security–A Segment of the Public Weighs In
In a mid-March Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, a sampling of slightly over a thousand U.S. adults expressed opinions on what needs to be done as Social Security and Medicare hurtle toward insolvency. Not surprisingly, the majority in…
A Political Assessment of Social Security Reform’s Headwinds
It’s been a long time coming, and now we’re within a decade of the catastrophe known as Social Security insolvency. And just to head the rumor off fast, that doesn’t mean bankruptcy for one of America’s most successful social programs…
Congress Passes the “CARES Act,” Including Relief Payments to Social Security Recipients
The “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or the “CARES Act” passed today in Congress, designed to provide for substantial stabilization in America’s economy during the unprecedented medical crisis sweeping the country. As approved, the Act provides critically needed funding in…