The time is now for action on Social Security - AMAC & The Hill
The Hill contributors Jeffrey R. Brown and Mark Duggan remind readers that infrastructure is not the only pressing problem needing attention in Washington. They note Social Security is running a deficit this year for the first time in 40 years. It will continue to do so every year, and when all trust fund surpluses currently being used to keep benefits whole now are dried up in about a decade, benefit cuts will occur automatically for all. The authors explain current Congressional Budget Office projections and remind readers of the 1983 reforms that extended Social Security’s lifespan. The reforms were not enough to stave off insolvency, and the authors argue for additional program changes along those lines. Waiting until insolvency occurs would leave ugly choices no one would accept. “If we act soon, we can phase-in changes in a much less disruptive way, while making improvements to the program’s structure and incentives.” Full op-ed in The Hill is here.
Jeffrey R. Brown is dean of the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mark Duggan is Trione Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved with no tax increases by changing cost of living adjustments, the retirement age, and delayed credits. 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 research. One component is Social Security PLUS, a voluntary plan to allow all earners to have more income 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 DC, meeting with a great many congressional offices and their staffs over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.
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