How much will the government cut Social Security benefits?
If Congress doesn't figure out a way to raise additional revenue or cut expenditures in time, an across-the-board benefits cut of up to 21% may be needed by 2034. Though no one wants to see their Social Security benefit cut, the federal government sure does have a plethora of options to do just that.
Will Social Security have to cut benefits by 2034?
Social Security will have to cut benefits by 2034 if Congress does nothing to address the program’s long-term funding shortfall, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the Social Security and Medicare trustees. That’s one year earlier than reported last year.
Does the Senate Republicans’ plan end Social Security and Medicare?
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee claimed that the "Senate Republicans’ plan" would "end Social Security" and "end Medicare." The ad refers not to a plan from Senate Republicans but from one Republican, Scott. The plan would sunset all federal laws after five years, requiring Congress to renew the laws it wants to keep.
Did a recent op-ed Call for cuts in Medicare and Social Security?
However, a recent op-ed did in fact call for cutting of spending, including for Social Security and Medicare. Peter Crabb, a professor of finance and economics at Northwest Nazarene University, wrote in a column published by the Idaho Statesman that “Congress must consider cuts in Medicare and Social Security.”
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Seeking bipartisan support
The plan also integrates a couple of elements that might help draw support from across the aisle.
Scott’s ’11-Point Plan’
- Outlining his vision for what he thinks a Republican-controlled Congress should do after the 2022 elections, Scott in February put out “An 11-Point Plan to Rescue America.” Under Point Six, which aims to shrink the size of the federal government, Scott writes, “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass...
Other Democratic Attacks
- On April 28, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee tweetedthat the “Senate Republicans’ plan would END” Social Security. The tweet includes a video that starts with an edited clip of Fox News anchor John Roberts asking Scott about his plan. “You recently put out an 11-point plan to rescue America,” Roberts said. “That would raise taxes on half of Americans an…
Scott on Social Security, Medicare
- In the same “Fox News Sunday” interviewfeatured in the DSCC ad and tweet, Scott went on to say that he had no intention of eliminating Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. “Here’s what’s happening,” Scott said. “No one that I know of wants to sunset Medicare or Social Security, but what we’re doing is we don’t even talk about it. Medicare goes bankrupt in four years. Social Sec…