GOP Plans to cut Social Security by 27%
Mikchael Phelan
Since the election, Republicans have made it clear that they plan to use their unified control over government to destroy Medicare. Just before Congress left for the holidays, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced the “Social Security Reform Act” – an impressive wish list of devastating Social Security cuts and upper-income tax breaks.
Our friends at the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center have crunched the numbers on the Johnson plan, and they are even scarier than we thought.
More than 2/3s of beneficiaries would see, on average, a 27% cut in benefits. This includes:
- Raising the retirement age to 69 (equivalent to a 13.5 percent across-the-board cut)
- Changing the benefit formula (9 percent average cut)
- Slashing the cost-of-living adjustment (13 percent average cut)
- Some long-lived beneficiaries could see cuts of up to 74 percent!
- Eliminates the taxation of benefits on high earners--giving a tax cut to those who need it least while reducing revenue back into the Social Security trust fund
The Johnson bill disproportionately hurts women and low-income workers who had employment gaps due to caregiving and unemployment. And it hurts those who had uneven earnings during their wage-earning years.
Here’s the crazy part: Rep. Johnson says his plan ensures the long-term health of Social Security’s trust fund--but it does this by cutting benefits by an average of 27% per person. Yet even in the worst-case scenario for Social Security, in which the wealthiest Americans don’t pay their fair share, Social Security can still pay 79% of promised benefits. Rep. Johnson’s bill cuts benefits by 27% to ensure that there isn’t a 21% cut a few decades from now.
|
Who We Are Social Security Works leads the fight every day to expand and protect our Social Security system. |
|
 |
Social Security Works: The Book From co-founders Nancy Altman & Eric Kingson, this book makes the powerful case that Social Security isn’t going broke and how expanding it will help us all. |
Together we must stand together against Republican attempts to destroy Social Security.
Thank you,
Michael Phelan
Social Security Works