Millions of Americans are already short on retirement funds and the proposition to raise the retirement age again from 67 to 69 is severely troubling. Reporting indicates that future generations will also take a severe blow to their security. Social Security Administration data show that about 30% of beneficiaries in their early 60s rely on the program for at least 80% of their total income. This age increase brings beneficiaries closer to an age where it may not even be possible to collect the benefits that they have worked for. This also affects those that have little savings to fall back on and those that have difficulty extending their careers.
The day of reckoning for social security
The day has come—the Social Security apocalypse that both Democrat and Republican alike have avoided. Forbes suggests that there are better ways to fund Social Security: “simply raise the earnings cap subject to Social Security taxes, which is set artificially low at $118,000."
Reportedly, if you make that amount or less, you are paying the same Social Security tax as millionaires and billionaires that can afford to pay more. Working-class Americans will take a blow to their costs of living and their financial security while the rich stay rich.
An expert on the matter, Rep. Richard Neal, explains that "instead of honoring the promises made to our seniors, the Republican plan would amount to a massive cut in Social Security benefits for working Americans through cuts to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), raising the retirement age to 69 and cuts to the benefit-computation formula.
Ultimately, this translates to a 30% or more cut in benefits for middle class retirees."
It is ironic that most of the voter base that sided with President trump will be the ones adversely affected by these cuts. Social security helps reduce poverty in every state.
Cutting major funds
Forbes.com explains that, “although arguably the GOP plan could put more money back into the Social Security Trust Fund, it does so at an extreme cost.”
That cost—the cost of draining the swamp—removes funding for important and helpful national funds (Times Union):
- National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to be completely eliminated
- Environmental Protection Agency (-31 percent)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (+6 percent)
- Department of Homeland Security (+7 percent)
- Defense Department (+9 percent)
- State Department (-29 percent)
- Agriculture Department (-21 percent)
- Labor Department (-21 percent)
- Department of Health and Human Services (-18 percent)
- Commerce Department (-16 percent)
- Education Department (-14 percent)
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (-13 percent)
- Transportation Department (-13 percent)
- Interior Department (-12 percent)
- Energy Department (-6 percent)
- Small Business Administration (-5 percent)
- Treasury Department (-4 percent)
- Justice Department (-4 percent)
- NASA (-1 percent)
These cuts have implications for our populace and threaten the security of everyone.
Steven K. Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, reports that “$54 billion in additional funding will be funneled into defense programs, beef up immigration enforcement and significantly reduce the non-defense federal work force to further the deconstruction of the administrative state.”
Nothing says “we have strong troops and a stronger military” like "we just cut funding to programs that feed them, educate them, and enable them to travel." It is unclear whether or not these plans will actually come to fruition and be widely successful.
