By Sen. Bernie Sanders
Reader Supported News
readersupportednews.org
22 September 11 - Republicans hate Social Security because it has been an extraordinary success and has done exactly what it was designed to do. It is the most successful government program in our nation's history and is enormously popular.
When Social Security was developed, 50 percent of seniors lived in poverty. Today, that number is 10 percent - still too high, but a testament to the success of Social Security.
Republicans have spent years demonizing Social Security and spreading lies about its sustainability. They want to scare Americans and build support for making drastic cuts to the program or privatizing it entirely. Their long-term goal is to end Social Security as we know it, and convert it into a private account system which will enable Wall Street to make hundreds of billions in profits.
The truth is that, today, according to the Social Security Administration, Social Security has a $2.7 trillion surplus and can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 25 years.
Further, because it is funded by the payroll tax and not the US Treasury, Social Security has not contributed one nickel to our deficit.
Now - in a prolonged recession that has decimated the poor and middle class and pushed more Americans into poverty than at any point in modern history - we need to strengthen Social Security. That's why I, along with nine co-sponsors, have introduced the "Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act." This legislation would lift the Social Security Payroll tax cap on all income over $250,000 a year, would require millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share into the Social Security Trust Fund, and would extend the program for the next 75 years.
Join me now as a citizen co-sponsor of the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act.
For 76 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American. The most effective way to strengthen Social Security for the next 76 years is to scrap the payroll tax cap for those earning $250,000 a year or more.
Right now, someone who earns $106,800 pays the same amount of money into Social Security as billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That is because today, all income above $106,800 is exempt from the Social Security tax. As a result, 94% of Americans pay Social Security tax on all of their income, but the wealthiest 6% do not.
That makes no sense.
The "Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act" will ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security without cutting benefits, raising the retirement age or raising taxes on the middle class.
Join me and Democracy for America in fighting to strengthen Social Security - Sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act.
Social Security is keeping tens of millions of seniors out of poverty today. I can think of no more important issue facing our country today than making sure that Social Security remains strong for generations to come.
Thank you.
Bernie
Senator Bernie Sanders
US Senator from Vermont
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2 comments:
I fully support this. I've been saying for a long time that we needed to eliminate the cap on SS tax.
Too bad the Senator did not do a fact check before writing his article. "Republicans have spent years demonizing Social Security and spreading lies about its sustainability."
Well, the Trustees of the programs disagree with him as expressed in their annual report:
A SUMMARY OF THE 2011 ANNUAL REPORTS
Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html
"Projected long-run program costs for both Medicare and Social Security are not sustainable under currently scheduled financing, and will require legislative corrections if disruptive consequences for beneficiaries and taxpayers are to be avoided. Reluctance to resolve the Social Security and Medicare shortfalls is understandable, as doing so involves slowing the growth of program benefits, increasing the age at which individuals become eligible for benefits, or increasing the taxes and premiums that support these programs. Failure to enact such measures, however, will not shield participants collectively from adverse effects. One way or the other the imbalance between scheduled benefits and future revenues must be resolved. Further delay in enacting corrective legislation to do so as equitably as possible would simply mean that continued uncertainty will surround how the imbalances will be resolved and that the unavoidable adjustments will be compressed into a shorter time period, be concentrated upon fewer affected individuals, and be more disruptive as a result.
Notwithstanding the updates that will take place in the future, certain fundamental conclusions are inescapable and will almost certainly remain so as long as current policies continue unchanged. The most important of these conclusions is that both the Social Security and Medicare programs face substantial financial shortfalls that will require significant legislative action to address. A corollary of this finding is that the longer such legislative corrections are delayed, the more adverse the consequences will be for those who will bear the costs of closing these imbalances. The remainder of this message addresses the causes, severity, and certainty of these shortfalls -- and the costly consequences of further delay
Under current law, demographic trends will be the primary driver of cost growth for both Social Security and Medicare over the next couple of decades. The leading edge of the large baby boom generation began signing up for retirement benefits in 2008 and Medicare coverage in 2011. This generation will dramatically increase the number of program beneficiaries through the mid-2030s, while also living longer than previous generations and having produced fewer children than did their own parents. Accordingly, combined Social Security and Medicare costs, which amounted to 7.4 percent of GDP in 2007 (the last year in which the ratio of program costs to GDP was not strongly influenced by the recent recession), are projected to rise to 11.8 percent of GDP by 2035. More than 90 percent of combined cost growth in Social Security and Medicare from 2007 through 2085 relative to GDP will have occurred by 2035 under current projections. This rapid cost growth for Social Security and Medicare represents the greatest financial challenge facing these programs as well as the most important reason that delaying legislative corrections would be increasingly disruptive.
The financial challenges facing Social Security and Medicare should be addressed soon. If action is taken sooner rather than later, more options and more time will be available to phase in changes so that those affected can adequately prepare."
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