Fixing Social Security in two easy steps
Social Security has a modest funding shortfall. If nothing is done, benefits will have to be cut by a quarter in 2033 or thereabouts.
Several Republican candidates for president think this is just fine as long as we cut only the benefits of young people. That's kind of cynical, but politics ain't beanbag. If young people have to be thrown under the bus, well, that's why God gave us buses.
But I'd like to remind you that Social Security can be fixed for everyone for all time with only two small changes:
- Increase the payroll tax cap so that 90% of income is taxed, as intended by the 1977 reform act. In practice, this would raise the cap from its current $160,000 to include income up to about $300,000.
- Increase the payroll tax from 6.2% to 7.4%.
That's it. That's all it takes to fix Social Security forever and meet the promises we've made to workers of every generation. It's not hard and not painful.
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