Social Security is a promise. You work. You pay into the system. And when you retire, you should be able to count on the benefits you’ve earned.
But that promise is at risk of being broken.
The Social Security trustees just released a report projecting that the retirement trust fund — the fund that you have paid into — will run out of reserves in 2032.
That’s not some date way down the line that we can all assume will be figured out by then. That’s just six years away. The time to figure it out is now.
Without action from Congress, only 78% of scheduled retirement benefits would be payable then. And so I believe we have a choice about how to respond.
We could cut benefits and ask retirees, people with disabilities, and working families to bear the burden.
OR we could ask Americans earning the highest-incomes to contribute their fair share to Social Security.
Surprised that’s not how it already works? Well, it’s true. Let me explain:
Today, workers pay a 6.2% Social Security tax on their wages up to $184,500. Once you earn more than that, you stop paying the Social Security tax on your wages for the rest of the year.
So a teacher earning $60,000 pays Social Security taxes on every dollar she earns. A worker earning $184,500 does, too. But someone earning $1 million pays the tax on just the first $184,500.
That’s right, the country’s billionaires pay into Social Security as if they make just $184,500.
That doesn’t make sense.
According to one estimate, if we eliminated this cap on Social Security taxes, we could inject around $3 TRILLION into the program over the next 10 years.
So that’s why I’ve proposed a bipartisan plan to lift the cap on Social Security taxes and make the wealthiest Americans pay Social Security taxes on more of their wages. This would strengthen the program without cutting the benefits millions of Americans have earned.
I need to show my colleagues in Congress that working people want us to protect the Social Security they’ve spent their lives paying into — not balance the books on their backs.
So, will you add your name if you agree with my plan to protect Social Security for this generation and the next by asking the wealthiest Americans to contribute their fair share?
Thanks for being a part of this,
Elizabeth  |
