If you’ve been paying attention to politics in the last couple of years, you’ve likely heard at least one scare about the death of Social Security. But it turns out there’s no real crisis here, just an opportunity to pull more seniors out of poverty. 

A recent study found that 71% of Americans are afraid that Social Security will run out in their lifetimes. But that fear has been manufactured by trickle-downers across the country. The honest truth is this: Social Security has been around for more than 80 years and has more public support than almost any other program. 

So, why do Americans think Social Security is on the brink of collapse? Because anti-government think tanks are using scare tactics to trigger their own “reform” movement that would privatize Social Security, making it much less useful, universal, and efficient. 

If Social Security were actually in trouble, Congress could easily solve the problem by raising the Social Security cap. The dirty secret of the program is that this year, people won’t pay into Social Security for any dollar earned over $142,800, meaning that the richer you are, the less you pay into the system.

If we made it so every American – rich or poor – contributes the same share of their salary into Social Security, estimates say we’d be able to make the system work even better, more robust, and eliminate poverty in our elderly population for the next 75 years.

That’s not the only solution available to us, either – we could also increase the payroll tax or tax the massive wealth the uber rich make on capital gains to expand Social Security benefits. Whatever solution you favor, the fact is that there’s no Social Security crisis – only an opportunity.

With all of the misinformation flying around about the Social Security program, Civic Action is dedicated to setting the record straight and strengthening this popular benefit for generations to come. But we want to hear what YOU think, John. Tell us now: 

Do you think Congress should take immediate action to expand and strengthen our Social Security program?

Thanks for staying skeptical about trickle-down ideology. I really appreciate your support of our movement to build the economy from the middle out.

Thank you, 

Stephanie Ervin