Neither Republicans nor Democrats appear willing to even consider the most modest of changes to the federal government’s programs – Social Security and Medicare. These most sacred of political cows are off limits because neither party wants to be tagged as the guys who cut grandma’s benefits.
While this is a case study of why we’re in a massive fiscal mess, it’s also an instance where a small amount of courage could do major fiscal good.
Consider this Wall Street Journal piece from the American Enterprise Institute’s Andrew Biggs. Biggs proposes that placing an inflation-indexed cap on the maximum annual Social Security benefit could help the program avoid insolvency (at least for a while longer):
By 2035 the maximum Social Security benefit will reach $49,825 and by 2050 it will rise to $59,234.
For a single, high-income retiree $42,238 should be more than enough to get by in most parts of the country. That’s why, in future years, the maximum Social Security retirement benefit should be capped at the 2023 value, adjusted for inflation. Retirees entitled to less would receive their benefit as promised, but those entitled to more would be limited to that amount.
To receive the top benefit, a person must have worked 35 years or more at the maximum salary taxable by Social Security, which would have averaged to about $117,000 a year for someone retiring today.
Biggs admits this small step, which would apply to high-wage earners who are likely already saving for their retirements through vehicles like IRAs and 401(k) plans, will not solve all of Social Security’s solvency issues.
But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Even a modest one. That there appears to be no political willingness to take even this small measure tells us how craven, and reckless, our political class is.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: China Responds After Suspected Reconnaissance Balloon Appears Over US Skies
If the Democrats had not STOLEN all the money the Baby Boomers paid into SS their entire lives and left WORTHLESS IOUs in place of the money they frittered away in typical wasteful government style, SS and Medicare would NOT be in the DIRE straits they are in now. I think the people who STOLE the money should have to contribute ALL their cushy pension payments into the fund in perpetuity until what they took is paid back. In the meantime, they can live on Social Security like REGULAR Americans have to do.
Why is THIS aspect of the problem NEVER discussed when they are scheming to yank the Social Security rug out from under the nation’s elderly?
Why don’t we start not giving people money to have kids they can’t afford. That would save millions. You should not be able to have more kids you can’t afford to take care of yourself.
If the moderator allows links to be posted, take a look at this article from Heritage Foundation and see if you can’t find enough truly ridiculous pork that was funded by Congress last year. If we quit putting so much nonsense into the federal budget it would be very easy to continue to fund Social Security and Medicare without having to worry about who can or can’t afford children. Look at the absolute nonsense that Congress funded last year, and the cost. This article does not itemize “everything,’ just some of the most egregious – Congressman giving millions of dollars of money for their districts, for things that are not necessasry and that should in any case be funded by local governments or local donors.
https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/8-varieties-rancid-pork-latest-spending-bill
Regarding children, they are actually a natural resource. I remember reading years ago that Japan was having to send their aging nursing home patients to nearby Asian countries for care, because there were so few young people available to work in nursing homes in Japan. When you have more older people than younger people, that is what happens – it is harder for older people to obtain care, even if you have funds. Likewise, retirement plans that count on an influx of younger people paying in over the years are hurt by declining population. When there are fewer children being born, they do not grow up to be purchasers of manufacatured items, and are not part of the work force – and it can become a situation similar to what we have seen since Covid – products we used to depend on become unavailable, supply chains break down etc. Helping children to survive when parents experience unexpected setbacks such as disabling illnesses is in our nation’s interest. If you can find the video Demographic WInter online it is worth viewing – there is a 3 minute trailer, but the full documentary is about an hour. In the video, a number of economists and other academics explain the consequences of a declining population, when birth rates fall. There are numerous wasteful items in our national budget that could be elminated without touching retirement benefits that seniors paid for, or benefits to dependent children in need.
Damn DC Estd Culture day 1
Why is it that the standard is ALWAYS “cut Social Security and Medicare” and if that is not on the table, that is “proof” that no one is serious. Why not stop the war in Ukraine? During 2022, the US spent nearly $50 billion in aid to Ukraine, and we continue to send more, while a military analyst reports that there is no longer hope of winning this war, which many think is not in our national interest anyway – while our own border is not adequately protected and our economy being destroyed. We spent about $50 billion a year on our regular foreign aid, including about a fifth of that to the United Nations. I have attended UN meetings more than a dozen times over the past 18 years, and am aware that nations such as China and Cuba have had seats on the Human Rights Council, though they are known to be violators of basic human rights. The UN Commission on the Status of Women has been relentlessly focused on making abortion a “universal human right” which would exempt abortion from all regulations in all countries – even exempting it from “informed consent” laws. A couple years ago I participated in a conference asssociated with the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women and learned of a plan to use a loophole in the longstanding ban on abortion funding in foreign aid, in hopes that the US would begin to purchase abortion equipment for developing nations around the globe – though I read today that Congress is consdering legislation that would close that loophole. The UN spends its funds on projects that the American people would object to if they knew.
It should be a no-brainer that American citizens who paid in to Social Security would be able to rely on Social Security and Medicare in our later years, in some cases, as a very major part of our retirement and health care planning, something where we paid in throughout our entire working lives, fully expecting would be there for us later. There are TONS of things that should be cut, or not entered to a budget in the first place, that would more than pay for Social Security and Medicare. Heritage Foundation has an article from last year detailing funds for all kinds of “pork” that went into last year’s budget, things that would properly have been paid for by local government OR by local donors. Just for example, the wealthy community of Bermuda Run, NC, got $3.65 million dollars last year for recreational infrastructure. Not sure what they needed since the Bermuda Run Country Club has TWO private golf courses and there are six public golf courses in the vicinity not to mention four additional private or semi-private ones. The median annual income of this community is 44% higher than the rest of the U.S., so if they needed more recreational opportunities maybe local government OR private donors could chip in? But – no, another golf course for Bermuda Run would be more important than assuring that middle and lower income Americans get a check so they can eat, and have healthcare in their retirement years. The word count for this space would not allow me to begin to list all the pork projects that could and should be cut. I am extremely tired of everyone always coming back to Social Security and Medicare. Find something else to cut – there are tons of them. .
Maybe instead of giving billions of taxpayer money away to other countries we should invest in our own infrastructure, SS, Medicare etc. Also, instead of funding special interest groups with millions of taxpayer money that only helps their specific programs spend that money on the programs that will eventually benefit all taxpaying citizens who paid into them.