THE LEVIN LETTER: Social Security’s Viability Demands Bold Action
This week we celebrate the 89th anniversary of the enactment of the Social Security Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935, which established the critical safety net program that millions of seniors rely upon to make ends meet. Social Security, formed out of President Roosevelt’s “New Deal,” ensures that seniors can live their golden years with dignity and with an important financial cushion to pay rent, buy groceries, and fill their prescriptions.
At a time when 70 million Americans rely on Social Security and 10,000 Baby Boomers a day become eligible, it is crucial that Congress take steps to protect the program and ensure benefits keep pace with inflation.
The Board of Trustees for Social Security recently released its annual report on the financial status of the program over the next 75 years. The report included concerning findings that we must take seriously to protect and preserve Social Security for future retirees.
According to the report, Social Security is rapidly approaching insolvency and will encounter a massive $3 trillion cash deficit in the next decade. It projects that the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) fund will deplete its reserves in the next nine years, at which time today’s 58-year-olds will reach full retirement age and today’s youngest retirees will turn 71. By 2035, all beneficiaries will be insolvent.
As life expectancies rise and the number of Americans ages 65 and older is set to increase from 58 million now to 75 million in 2035, we can expect the program to be under incredible strain. Millions are preparing to access their Social Security benefits despite the dire financial situation of the program, and younger generations are concerned that they will not have this vital resource when they are ready to retire.
This should raise urgent alarms for Congress. We need bipartisan action to ensure Social Security’s viability.
The problems facing Social Security are real and demand bold solutions. Unfortunately, some extreme members of Congress have put forth proposals that would harm our neighbors who have paid into this benefit for decades. They would cut Social Security by trillions of dollars, raise the retirement age, and privatize the program.
A strong majority of Americans support protecting and enhancing Social Security, not cutting and privatizing it. That is why I am a strong supporter of the Social Security 2100 Act, which would extend the program’s solvency by “scrapping the cap” on Americans making more than $400,000 a year. The bill would also provide an across-the-board benefit increase for the first time in more than 50 years, provide an improved cost-of-living adjustment that takes true costs incurred by seniors into account, include a stronger minimum benefit, and enact an elimination of taxes for over 12 million Social Security recipients. This bill has support from nearly 200 members of Congress.
In addition to passing legislation to protect and strengthen Social Security, we must also continue to focus on efforts to ensure wealthy taxpayers and giant corporations pay their fair share of taxes. We should not be putting tax breaks for billionaires before the health of Social Security for its beneficiaries.
Americans work hard throughout their lives to earn their Social Security benefits, and they deserve to get them upon retirement. For the past 89 years, Social Security has been a reliable source of income for millions of retirees, and we cannot allow people to lose access to this vital benefit.
We owe it to our friends and neighbors to act on Social Security and ensure they have the resources they need to live a life of dignity and financial stability. I will keep fighting in Washington to ensure this program serves our nation for decades to come.
U.S.Representative Mike Levin represents the 49th Congressional District, which includes the South Orange County cities of Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. He was reelected in 2020 and 2022 and resides in San Juan Capistrano with his wife and two children.
By: Rep. Mike Levin
Source: San Clemente Times