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The 2024 election and entitlements
Do Americans care about Social Security when they vote? Lorie Konish cites a National Institute on Retirement Security finding. The group polled 1,208 people aged 25 and older and found 87% want action to address Social Security’s trust fund shortfall. Also, 69% of Americans said a candidate’s stance on Social Security will be a major factor in how they vote in the presidential election, according to Nationwide Retirement Institute. While both major candidates say they oppose benefit cuts, as a senator, Kamala Harris was a co-sponsor of the Social Security Expansion Act, which calls for raising taxes on the wealthy while making Social Security benefits more generous. Donald Trump suggested income taxes be rolled back on benefits this week. Read full CNBC piece here.
As an example of the leading thoughts on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved without tax increases by slight modifications to cost of living adjustments and payments to high income beneficiaries plus gradually increasing the full (but not early) retirement age. AMAC Action, AMAC’s advocacy arm, supports an increase in the threshold where benefits are taxed and then indexing for inflation, and calls for eliminating the reduction in people’s benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved for current and successive generations and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in D.C., meeting with many congressional offices and staff over the past decade.