Vote to save Social Security this November

A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) shows that, although neither Vice President Kamala Harris nor former President Donald Trump have a solid plan to shore up Social Security — which is expected to be insolvent by 2034 — Trump’s policies in particular would cause the program so many older Americans rely on as their main source of income to run out of funds within six years. 

“Trump’s proposals to eliminate taxation of Social Security benefits, end taxes on tips and overtime, impose tariffs, and expand deportations would all widen Social Security’s cash deficits,” U.S. Budget Watch, a project of the CRFB, reported this week. 

The analysis showed that Trump’s policies would, according to the U.S. Budget Watch report: “increase Social Security’s 10-year cash shortfall by $2.3 trillion through 2035” and require either far more cuts to benefits (a 33% cut versus the 23% cut needed without Trump’s policies) or a 50% increase in Social Security revenues. 

The group stated that Trump’s proposals to end taxation of Social Security benefits, end all taxes on overtime pay and tips, set tariffs on imported goods — “which would either increase cost-of-living adjustments through higher inflation or reduce taxable payroll” — and deport millions of immigrants who pay into Social Security would “weaken Social Security’s finances.”

The group noted that, while Trump has claimed he can save Social Security by “drilling for oil and natural gas and growing the economy,” the analysis showed that “increased energy exploration is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on Social Security – even if the gains were deposited into the trust fund … (and) that it would require unrealistically fast economic growth to close Social Security’s existing long-term funding gap.”

President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders have both proposed fairly taxing higher-income earners who currently do not pay Social Security taxes on annual income over $168,600. Ten senators, including Sanders, introduced the Social Security Expansion Act that would help shore up Social Security funds through the end of the century and expand benefits to many lower-income recipients. 

In March of this year, Sanders explained the bill in an opinion piece for Fox News, and said the rapid disappearance of corporate-funded retirement pensions in this country has caused a crisis in which nearly 45% of older Americans between 55 and 64 have no savings and will rely on Social Security benefits when they are no longer able to work. 

“Incredibly and unacceptably, one out of every four senior citizens in America are trying to live on an income of less than $15,000 a year, while over half of our nation’s seniors are trying to survive on an income of less than $30,000 a year,” Sanders noted.

Sanders and Biden have both talked about the unfairness of the wealthiest in our country not having to pay the same percentage into Social Security as the vast majority of lower- and middle-class Americans. 

“Today, absurdly and unfairly, a billionaire pays the same amount of money into Social Security as someone who makes $168,700 a year as a result of the cap on the Social Security payroll tax,” Sanders noted. “That means, if you make up to $168,700 a year, you pay 6.2% of your income in Social Security taxes. But if you make 10 times more — $1,687,000 — you pay just 0.62% of your income in Social Security taxes.”

Under the legislation proposed by Sanders and others, Social Security taxes would be paid in equal percentages by all earners. Analysts have shown that those new revenues would help keep Social Security solvent for at least another 75 years, while keeping Social Security taxes stable for 93% of Americans and only impacting those who earn more than $250,000 a year. 

Sanders also has called for a return to company-paid pensions to help older Americans during their “golden years.” 

As he stated in his opinion piece: “Expanding Social Security is only part of the solution. We must also restore and expand traditional pension plans. We can no longer tolerate a rigged retirement system that allows the former CEO of Starbucks to receive a $60 million golden parachute after five years of work, while millions of workers are denied a pension after a lifetime of work.”

There are a lot of critical, “our future depends on it” issues at stake in this presidential election and saving Social Security is one of them. People who are fortunate enough to have had corporate pension plans or who earned enough money throughout their careers to save for retirement may not fully understand how crucial Social Security payments are to people with disabilities that make them unable to work and for people over the age of 65. 

According to the Social Security Administration, “Social Security is the major source of income for most people over age 65,” with “an average of almost 68 million Americans per month” receiving Social Security benefits. 

The U.S. already falls behind most other developed nations when it comes to caring for our elders. In The Netherlands, for instance, retired people receive the equivalent of about 90% of their income while In Canada that number is around 50%. In the U.S. it’s 40%. “The U.S. version of Social Security pays out far less than many other countries,” Yahoo Finance reported in 2023. “Whereas many workers across the globe can live a relatively prosperous life just off Social Security benefits, this isn’t usually the case in the United States.”

And we now know that, under Trump, we would be even worse off. We deserve federal leaders who — like Sanders and the Biden administration have proven — have actual answers to the looming Social Security crisis and who will protect and preserve this critical life-saving program for the millions of Americans who do (and will soon) rely on it as their major source of income in later life.