All workers in the United States pay social security tax to provide for various benefits upon their retirement. Since its inception in 1935 by President Franklin Roosevelt, we have had a safety net for all legal residents that have worked in the US. Indeed, it is estimated that Social Security has reduced the poverty rate for Americans age 65 and older from between 40-50% to below 10%. It is undeniable that for many Americans Social Security provides most, if not all, of their money in retirement.
Social security is one of the many taxes deducted from your paycheck by your employer on your behalf. According to Wikipedia, “with few exceptions, all salaried income, up to an amount specifically determined by law, is subject to the Social Security payroll tax.” As a result, nearly every working man, woman and child has a line item on their paycheck, which is their regular contribution towards their future retirement. Since 1935, working Americans have counted on these benefits when calculating their retirement needs.
Hardworking men and women pay into Social Security faithfully over their entire lives and have earned their full benefits. However, according to the most recent annual report of the Social Security Board of Trustees, Social Security will be insolvent by year 2035. Now, what exactly does that mean? If no legislative changes are made, it means that we no longer have a surplus to pay the difference between the amount we pay and the amount we collect. Worst case, we would need to drop payments to 79% of benefits! That certainly sounds scary. I could not survive on 79% of my expected income, especially when many seniors live almost exclusively off of these benefits. Is this really necessary, hardly likely. If we could let Congress know that we expect bi-partisan support on legislation protecting the weakest of Americans, we can solve this together.
I do not propose to know the best solutions to address this shortfall- increase taxes, change retirement age, collect taxes on those making more than x per year, or finding a new source of revenue that would go directly to fund social security. What I do know is that we cannot continue to scare our seniors and have them bear the possible burden of balancing our federal budget on their backs. We stand with Congressman Jones (R-NC) and demand that Congress pass the Social Security Guarantee Act. This bill directs the Treasury Department to issue a certificate of guarantee to each American that is entitled to benefits. It affords Seniors the security of knowing that the United States government will keep their promise to pay these benefits in full.
