Social Security reform
President Trump’s Key Short-Term Target Areas for Social Security
Social Security is getting its fair share of attention as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues toward its goal of cutting federal spending, specifically focusing on identifying and eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs. While this attention…
Highlighting Legislative Inertia on Social Security Reform
The term “inertia” refers to the natural tendency for objects at rest to remain at rest. Thinking about Social Security reform as an “object,” then, implies that action on corrective measures to ward off the catastrophe projected to hit beneficiaries…
Thought Leaders Weigh In on Social Security Reform
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF), a nonpartisan organization focusing on the nation’s fiscal issues, provides various forums for policy influencers to contribute to the legislative conversations shaping the future for America’s seniors. PGPF’s Solutions Initiative 2024 is one such…
Social Security Reform: Debunking the Fear Mongering Following the RSC Proposal
Rumors and speculation about the Social Security intentions behind the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) Fiscal Year 2025 Budget proposal–titled “Fiscal Sanity to Save America”–have blossomed in the days following its release last week. Labeling the fast-moving rhetoric as “a lot…
Culture Wars and Social Security…A Changing Landscape
As we wind down this turbulent year, we see a spate of media commentary that smacks of warfare across the generational spectrum regarding Social Security. First, there was the December 11 piece by Andrew G. Biggs (“No, Social Security Isn’t…
Long-Term Debt and Social Security Reform: Yes, There is a Relationship.
The mind-boggling gap between federal revenue and federal spending–pegged at $1.7 trillion for 2023–and the resultant nearly doubling of the year-over-year federal budget deficit is the subject of an analysis by University of Maryland professor Melissa Kearney and former U.S.…
Means Testing for Social Security…Where do the Republican Candidates Stand?
By now, anyone who’s been paying attention to Social Security’s steadily deteriorating financial position is keenly aware of the long-term implications of Congress taking no corrective action. Many suggestions for program restructuring have been put forth by a number of…
Social Security’s Future–A Clear and Concise Synopsis
Media accounts of Social Security’s long-term viability frequently set forth a dismal picture, often using terms like “bankrupt” that generate either alarm or despair depending on one’s age and proximity to benefit eligibility. Those who follow this subject closely, of…
Candidate Christie Breaks Ranks on the Social Security Issue, Advocates Cuts
While the prevalent mindset during the runup to the election year seems to be a consistent aversion to addressing the Social Security solvency problem head-on, presidential candidate Chris Christie stepped out of line recently with statements calling for reform provisions…
On the Issue of Social Security Means Testing…
One of the ideas being explored these days is the thought that Social Security benefits for the ultra-wealthy should be perhaps curtailed or even eliminated. It’s not necessarily a new thought, since it has come up more than once over…