If Social Security and Medicare were abolished today, everyone, including the elderly and the poor, would be much better off. For one thing, many seniors don’t need the money. They are sufficiently wealthy.
Full Answer
Should Social Security/Medicare be eliminated?
In addition, the progressive elimination of the Social Security/Medicare system would operate to promote saving and capital accumulation. The saving of individuals would steadily replace taxes as the source of provision for old age.
Why do Republicans want to destroy Social Security and Medicare?
Today’s Republicans want to avoid political accountability by destroying Social Security and Medicare without leaving clear fingerprints. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Why don’t Social Security and Medicare go through appropriations?
Social Security — the people’s pension — and Medicare — the first step toward universal health insurance for all — do not go through the appropriations process because, as monthly pension payments and medical insurance, they must pay what is owed, not what Congress chooses to spend.
Do Social Security and Medicare need fixing?
And when Republicans talk about “fixing” Social Security and Medicare, Democrats should point out that Republicans are using the word “fix” the same way veterinarians do, when they talk about neutering dogs and cats. The reality is that Social Security and Medicare don’t need fixing.
Why Social Security will never go away?
Introduction. As a result of changes to Social Security enacted in 1983, benefits are now expected to be payable in full on a timely basis until 2037, when the trust fund reserves are projected to become exhausted.
Will Social Security ever be eliminated?
According to the 2022 annual report of the Social Security Board of Trustees, the surplus in the trust funds that disburse retirement, disability and other Social Security benefits will be depleted by 2035. That's one year later than the trustees projected in their 2021 report.
What president took money from the Social Security fund?
President Lyndon B. Johnson1.STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT UPON MAKING PUBLIC THE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON AGING--FEBRUARY 9, 19647.STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT COMMENORATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT -- AUGUST 15, 196515 more rows
What happens if the government gets rid of Social Security?
Companies would immediately see their tax rate fall, which means that the leftover money would immediately fall to their bottom lines. Currently, the two trust funds that help provide Social Security benefits have $2.8 trillion. If that money were immediately freed up, it could serve a number of purposes.
Who was the first president to dip into Social Security?
Which political party started taxing Social Security annuities? A3. The taxation of Social Security began in 1984 following passage of a set of Amendments in 1983, which were signed into law by President Reagan in April 1983.
What Year Will Social Security run out?
2035After years of alarming headlines about the imminent insolvency of Social Security, Americans just got some good news. The agency's funds are now predicted to run out of money in 2035 — one year later than expected.
Did Congress borrow from Social Security?
Ultimately, Congress' borrowing allowed Social Security to collect $85.1 billion in interest income for 2017, and it's expected to provide $804 billion in aggregate interest income between 2018 and 2027.
How much money has the government borrowed from Social Security?
All of those assets are held in "special non-marketable securities of the US Government". So, the US government borrows from the OASI, DI and many others to finance its deficit spending. As a matter of fact, as of this second, the US government currently has "intragovernmental holdings" of $4.776 trillion.
Why is Social Security running out?
Over the next ten plus years, the Social Security administration will draw down its reserves as a decreasing number of workers will be paying for an increasing number of beneficiaries. This is due to a decline in the birth rate after the baby boom period that took place right after World War II, from 1946 to 1964.
What changes are coming to Social Security in 2022?
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 5.9 percent in 2022. Read more about the Social Security Cost-of-Living adjustment for 2022. The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $147,000.
Will Social Security be around in 2040?
Will Social Security still be around when I retire? Yes. The Social Security taxes you now pay go into the Social Security Trust Funds and are used to pay benefits to current beneficiaries. The Social Security Board of Trustees now estimates that based on current law, in 2041, the Trust Funds will be depleted.
What changes are coming to Social Security in 2021?
The tax rate hasn't changed. The amount of income that's subject to that tax, however, has also increased in line with the COLA. In 2021, you paid Social Security tax (called Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) on up to $142,800 of taxable earnings. That limit will be $147,000 in 2022.
Why are employer driven retirement plans and employment driven retirement plans (social security) wrong?
Personally, I think employer driven retirement plans (pensions) and employment driven retirement plans (social security) are wrong, because it makes US workers more expensive. Such plans should be funded from access to the us marketplace, whether goods and services are domestic or foreign.
How should social welfare be funded?
Such plans should be funded from access to the us marketplace, whether goods and services are domestic or foreign. Our decent social welfare programs should not put pressure on our decent social welfare plans by making the source of funds non-competitive. Each penny in payroll taxes makes us less competitive, reducing payroll and thereby reducing funding for the things payroll taxes pay for.
When did the SS-OASI change to 1939?
In 1939 congress scrapped the 1935 benefit formula and introduced the 1939 benefit formula. This one change has cost SS-OASI more than $14 Trillion through 2019. Congress also moved the date for the first benefits to be paid from 1942 to 1940.
Is Social Security untouchable?
Social Security in the US is legislatively untouchable.
Did SS OASI pay payroll taxes?
Because SS-OASI grandfathered workers who were close to age 65, those who worked less than 37 years would never pay enough payroll tax to fund their own benefits. Thus anyone who retired prior to 1974 would never had paid enough payroll tax to fund their benefits. Their benefits were paid by those who would not reach 65 for 40+years. In essence Congress used the “Cash Float” of young workers payroll taxes for decades and would not have to pay the piper for decades.
Why don't Social Security and Medicare go through the appropriations process?
Social Security — the people’s pension — and Medicare — the first step toward universal health insurance for all — do not go through the appropriations process because, as monthly pension payments and medical insurance, they must pay what is owed, not what Congress chooses to spend. If Social Security and Medicare were subject to the whims of every Congress, they would be radically transformed. No one could count on the benefits they had earned. Presumably with that goal in mind, the new rules require the relevant committees to make “recommendations for changes to existing law for moving [unspecified} programs…from mandatory funding to discretionary appropriations, where appropriate.”
What is the Republican claim that they are simply seeking to save Social Security and Medicare?
Republican claims that they are simply seeking to save Social Security and Medicare is the same Orwellian language used during the Vietnam War, when a military officer claimed that a village had to be destroyed in order to save it. Similarly, when today’s Republicans talk of “saving” Social Security and Medicare, ...
Why do Republicans hate Medicare?
Because Social Security and Medicare are government programs that work so well, the Republican elite — with its seemingly religious belief that the private sector is always the best — hates them . So obsessed are the Republicans in their desire to eliminate these effective government programs that the very first action that House Republicans took in the new Congress was to adopt a rules package that included a new rule that amounts to a stealth attack on Social Security and Medicare.
What are the Republicans' obsessions with Medicare?
The Republican Obsession With Dismantling Social Security And Medicare. Today’s Republicans want to avoid political accountability by destroying Social Security and Medicare without leaving clear fingerprints. The Republicans are desperate to destroy Social Security and Medicare. These two programs demonstrate government at its best.
Why does Medicare not go through the appropriations process?
Social Security — the people’s pension — and Medicare — the first step toward universal health insurance for all — do not go through the appropriations process because, as monthly pension payments and medical insurance, they must pay what is owed, not what Congress chooses to spend. If Social Security and Medicare were subject to the whims ...
What are the two programs that Republicans want to destroy?
The Republicans are desperate to destroy Social Security and Medicare. These two programs demonstrate government at its best. The federal government runs these two extremely popular programs more efficiently, universally, securely, and effectively than the private sector does with its alternatives — or indeed could, ...
What would happen if the Democratic Party could draw a clear distinction on this vital issue?
If the Democratic Party can draw a clear distinction on this vital issue, it can create a powerful wedge between the Republican elites and their base. If the base catches on and realizes who truly represents their economic interests, the next four years, difficult as they are going to be, will be followed by important progress for many years to come.
Why did Social Security increase?
In large part this increase is due to a package of reforms meant to stabilize Social Security’s finances that passed Congress in 1983. Among other things, lawmakers voted to raise the program’s retirement age from 65 to 67. That’s being phased in now. The full two-year increase will affect people born in 1960 or later.
How long did it take to get back Social Security?
For example, workers with average wages who retired at age 65 in 1980 got back both the employee and employer share of Social Security contributions, plus interest, in only 2.8 years, according to a Congressional Research Service study of the subject.
How much Social Security will a man retire in 2010?
Eugene Steuerle and Caleb Quakenbush have been studying these issues for some time. According to their updated 2012 figures, a single male earning the average wage who retired in 2010 will receive total lifetime Social Security and Medicare benefits worth $457,000, following total lifetime tax contributions of $361,000. So he’ll be $96,000 in the black.
How much will retirees get back in 2030?
A 2030 retiree would get back $156,000 more than he put in. So, as things stand at the moment, retirees will get increasingly generous transfer payments from working taxpayers as the decades roll by. The trend line is even better for a two-earner average-wage couple.
Did Obama say Medicare and Social Security are not handouts?
Obama himself from an appearance last September before an American Association of Retired Persons audience: “I want to emphasize, Medicare and Social Security are not handouts. You’ve paid into these programs your whole lives. You’ve earned them.”
Is Ryan referring to Medicare and Social Security?
Of course, Ryan is far from the only politician to describe Social Security and Medicare in this manner. The wording may be more common among Democrats, who often imply that these programs are simply keeping folks’ tax cash warm until they need it – so hands off!
Is Medicare a fiscal problem?
This should not be surprising. The rising cost of health care in general is one of the most important fiscal problems facing the United States. Medicare is only one aspect of this, albeit a big one.
Who voted against Medicare?
When Medicare was first being considered Senate Republican Robert Dole (then in the House) voted against it. Also in opposition to Medicare, in a famous 1964 speech, Ronald Reagan explained that his opposition to Social Security and Medicare is why he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
Which party is opposed to Social Security?
The Republican Party has always been associated with opposition to Social Security. Economic historian Max Skidmore shows that the final vote for Social Security was lopsided--only 2% of Democrats voted against it (because it wasn't generous enough) while 33% of Republicans voted against Social Security.
Why did McConnell say the Republicans would defend the tax cuts?
This poll was taken a week after Senator McConnell said the Republicans would defend the tax cuts and cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in order to curb the growing deficit, caused in significant part by those very tax cuts. The Republican Party has always been associated with opposition to Social Security.
What percentage of Americans would prefer to reverse the Republican tax cuts?
A poll one week before the election about Republican social and economic policy is a red flag for Republicans. 60% of Americans would prefer to reverse the Republican 2017 tax cuts than cut spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Who is calling for cuts to Social Security?
Not only is President Trump arguing with leading Republican Paul Ryan, about the Constitution, but the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate – Senator Mitch McConnell -- has called for cuts to Social Security. That is strange politics because Social Security is the most popular program in America, especially among the voters who are growing the fastest and who vote the most – people over 65.
Is Social Security a fiscal discipline?
Social Security is one of the few government programs with built-in fiscal discipline. Bottom Line: Though Senator McConnell may not have meant to publicize the Republican agenda to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the long history of Republican opposition may be an example of what Sigmund Freud and modern psychologists believe--a slip ...
Who said Social Security is designed to prevent business recovery, to enslave workers, and to prevent any possibility of?
In 1935, Republican congressman John Taber said Social Security “is designed to prevent business recovery, to enslave workers, and to prevent any possibility of the employers providing work for the people.”.
Is there a downside to Social Security?
Bottom line: There are several upsides to funding Social Security through the general fund and literally no downsides. This is something that any progressive should support.
Is payroll tax regressive?
Payroll taxes are regressive. Nobody on the left should defend them.
Was payroll tax a straight political issue?
Back when Social Security was first started, FDR defended the payroll tax as “straight politics.” It was a way of tricking people into thinking that the money coming out of their paycheck was being “saved” in some way and then paid back to them when they retired. This has never been true, and FDR knew it, but it was a useful way of guaranteeing that Social Security couldn’t be touched in the future.
Is Social Security funded by taxes?
It’s worth noting that for the next couple of decades Social Security will be partially funded by income taxes anyway. The infamous trust fund, after all, is nothing but a bunch of government bonds in a filing cabinet somewhere in Virginia. If payroll taxes are insufficient to cover Social Security payments, the bonds are cashed in.
What are the causes of the shortfall in Medicare?
The trustees of Social Security and Medicare say that an aging Baby Boomer population, combined with lower fertility rates amongst younger generations are contributing to the funding shortfall.
When will Medicare become insolvent?
Experts say the cost of Medicare and Social Security will become insolvent within the next two decades. Medicare will become insolvent in 2026, according to the program’s trustees, and trust funds for Social Security will be depleted by 2034.
How much was spent on Social Security in 2018?
In fiscal year 2018, nearly half ($1.95 trillion) of federal spending was directed toward the major entitlement programs: $977 billion was spent on Social Security, $585 billion on Medicare and $389 billion on Medicaid.
Who said cuts to entitlements are needed to tackle the deficit?
Stivers was echoing the sentiments of party leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who argue that cuts to entitlements are needed to tackle the deficit. “Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt.
Who said the government has spent too much?
Instead of blaming the deficit on tax cuts, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in September that the government has “spent too much” and that the White House would like to “slim that down as much as possible.”. “People are quick to blame deficits on tax cuts but I don’t buy that,” Kudlow said.
