What Mike Bloomberg Wants to Do to Your Social Security
The former mayor of New York has certainly created quite a stir in the Democrat primaries, but what would Mike Bloomberg do to rescue Social Security, a program headed for insolvency in just over a decade? Answer–not very much. While it’s laudable that the candidate discusses Social Security, most of his ideas are to increase benefits now with no structural reforms proposed to address the longevity and demographic issues causing the program financial problems. Bloomberg essentially has a four point plan: 1. Save Social Security, though details are not offered beyond acknowledging the program will only pay 75-80% of benefits starting in 2035; 2. Minimum benefits for low-income seniors, which is essentially an overhaul of the complicated Supplemental Security Income (SSI) system; 3. Make COLAs bigger, using a more generous index; 4. Fix other Social Security problems, including modifying benefits for caregivers and surviving spouses. Read Dan Caplinger’s full piece here on Bloomberg and Social Security.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved by making modest changes in cost of living adjustments and the retirement age, with no additional taxes on workers. 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 well researched ideas. One component is Social Security PLUS, a new, voluntary plan that would allow all earners to have more income available 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.