The President’s support for Social Security 👎

The following is from a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

It is indicative of the thinking of this Administration. If anyone working for me put out such a dumb statement they would be fired. Do you see an enhanced initiative to support Social Security? Do you see any initiative to support Social Security?

Exactly how will this President ensure that “Social Security is solvent and viable,” by opposing any idea to do that? In the last six years this Administration has not put forth or pursued any proposal to strengthen Social Security including during those years its party had total control. All this despite an annual urging by the Social Security Trustees to take action sooner rather than later, Trustees which include key Cabinet members from the Administration… and that’s the truth‼️

President Announces New and Enhanced Initiatives to Support Older Americans

Feb 05, 2015
By: Nora Super, Executive Director, White House Conference on Aging

The President’s 2016 Budget will help ensure that older Americans enjoy not only longer but healthier lives. The Budget makes a number of commitments to enhance, advance, and create opportunity for older Americans, especially in the four focus areas of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging.

Let me say a little about a few of the Budget items in each area of focus:

To enhance retirement security, the President is committed to ensuring that Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in the future. The Administration will oppose any measures that privatize or weaken the Social Security system and will not accept an approach that slashes benefits for future generations or reduces basic benefits for current beneficiaries.

Defending the President on the topic of Social Security, the New York Times digs deep to find a proposal that helps secure the program:

“Contrary to the Republican charge that the budget is fiscally irresponsible, it addresses, albeit indirectly, longer-term problems like the financing shortfall in Social Security — just not in ways that Republicans care to acknowledge. For example, the budget assumes passage of comprehensive immigration reform, which would boost the economy by adding millions of newly legalized workers. Immigration and economic growth are essential to improving the financial health of the Social Security system.”

Here’s a clue. Adding millions of newly legalized workers means higher benefit payments in the future. Many illegal workers today pay into Social Security (using false SS numbers) but never collect benefits thereby helping Social Security unintentionally (estimated between $6 and $10 billion a year in taxes paid by illegal workers).

This Administration continues to champion populist non-solutions. Whether you like this President or not, you owe it to yourself to look beyond the rhetoric and assess the facts, the longer-term situation and the unintended consequences.