There are two bills being considered for "reforming" Social Security. The following quotes are from a CNBC article that discusses both bills.
1. Time to Rescue United States’ Trusts, or TRUST, Act
Quote: Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Romney is “acting true to his income” by putting forward a plan that could potentially pave the way for benefit cuts. “They want to pretend that they’re saving the program, and they are going to do it behind closed doors in a fast-track process,” Altman said. “They want to do something the American people don’t want, which is why they’re doing it this way.” Adcock also said the plan potentially gives politicians political cover to cut benefits.
“Solvency is great, but it’s only half the equation,” Adcock said. “The other part is are the benefits adequate enough to make sure seniors don’t live in poverty?”
2. Social Security 2100 Act
Quote: "The Social Security 2100 Act calls for increasing benefits, including a broad boost equal to 2% of the average benefit and a new minimum benefit that would be 25% above the poverty line. It would also raise the income thresholds before benefits are taxed to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples, up from $25,000 and $32,000, respectively. To pay for those changes, the bill also calls for applying payroll taxes to wages above $400,000. Only wages up to $132,900 are currently taxed. The bill would also gradually increase payroll taxes for all workers to 7.4% from 6.2% between 2020 and 2043."
This Trust Act opinion article criticizes the TRUST act for lacking details or transparency and because it "would create a fast-track, closed-door process for cutting Social Security and Medicare."
Social Security is an essential program for many older or disabled workers. Since it is a federal program and is controlled by Congress (or laws enacted by Congress), it is impossible to completely separate social security and politics. My goal here, however, is not to engage in partisan politics; some people here might oppose tax increases over anything else (including SSA benefit cuts) while other people here might prefer tax increases over benefit cuts. My goal here is to make you aware of proposals before Congress which, if enacted, would affect social security benefits. What you make of or do with this information is up to you.
1. Time to Rescue United States’ Trusts, or TRUST, Act
Quote: Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Romney is “acting true to his income” by putting forward a plan that could potentially pave the way for benefit cuts. “They want to pretend that they’re saving the program, and they are going to do it behind closed doors in a fast-track process,” Altman said. “They want to do something the American people don’t want, which is why they’re doing it this way.” Adcock also said the plan potentially gives politicians political cover to cut benefits.
“Solvency is great, but it’s only half the equation,” Adcock said. “The other part is are the benefits adequate enough to make sure seniors don’t live in poverty?”
2. Social Security 2100 Act
Quote: "The Social Security 2100 Act calls for increasing benefits, including a broad boost equal to 2% of the average benefit and a new minimum benefit that would be 25% above the poverty line. It would also raise the income thresholds before benefits are taxed to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples, up from $25,000 and $32,000, respectively. To pay for those changes, the bill also calls for applying payroll taxes to wages above $400,000. Only wages up to $132,900 are currently taxed. The bill would also gradually increase payroll taxes for all workers to 7.4% from 6.2% between 2020 and 2043."
This Trust Act opinion article criticizes the TRUST act for lacking details or transparency and because it "would create a fast-track, closed-door process for cutting Social Security and Medicare."
Social Security is an essential program for many older or disabled workers. Since it is a federal program and is controlled by Congress (or laws enacted by Congress), it is impossible to completely separate social security and politics. My goal here, however, is not to engage in partisan politics; some people here might oppose tax increases over anything else (including SSA benefit cuts) while other people here might prefer tax increases over benefit cuts. My goal here is to make you aware of proposals before Congress which, if enacted, would affect social security benefits. What you make of or do with this information is up to you.
