Social Security
The Left Says
“For 75 years, Social Security has been an enduring promise to America’s seniors.1 ” It is the height of folly to gamble our seniors’ futures on the whims of the stock market. Benefits must not be cut. The age of retirement must not be raised. Lift the earnings cap (currently no money is owed after the first $128,400 of income) and the “solvency issue” (a manufactured crisis) is fixed in an instant.
The Right Says
Social Security was designed to keep older Americans (not immigrants) out of poverty and it doesn’t. It has become a one-size-doesn’t-fit-all retirement program where most of the benefits go to the people that need it the least, threatening its long-term viability. And Medicare-for-all would put bureaucrats in-between us and our doctors . Government doesn’t run anything well. Why would we want it in charge of our retirement (or our healthcare)? People should be allowed to invest as they see fit in their own future, and purchase the medical insurance that is most fitting, based on their circumstances2.
The Solution
The problem has always been the pyramid: current workers (on stagnant wages) pay for current retiree benefits (which are not stagnant), rather than everyone having individualized accounts. Raising the retirement age and cutting benefits just keeps elders in the work-force longer.
Instead, lower the retirement age to 55 (slowly) and increase benefits by 50%. This generates workforce openings for EVERYONE coming out of college, and the really large number of people who have stopped looking for work (and are not counted in the official “unemployment “ numbers).
Next, raise the Social Security pay-in rate from 6.2% for both employer & employee – to 7.5%, and apply it to ALL income. Medicare pay-in rate raises from 1.45% to 2.5% (see Healthcare). Skim a slowly growing percentage of the Social Security pay-in into individualized accounts (start at 2% this year, rising by 2% per year, until 50 years from now, all contributions are going to individualized buckets). People can then choose from a slate of vetted investment vehicles (mostly index funds, but some percentage in securities, commodities, bonds, crypto, etc.), with the vetting agency insuring the principle. You will literally get back what you put in, plus interest (probably). Benefits are still calculated based on Average Indexed Monthly Earnings, and are taxable as income.
1 from the Democratic Party Platform
…because maybe we (you) should look at these things.