Time to Stop the Noise and Start Acting
As someone who is very concerned with the debt-ridden fiscal trajectory of our country, I spend time reading news and opinion pieces about this subject daily.
The good news is that more writers seem to be waking up to the fact that we have a serious problem that will be catastrophic in a few years if we don't develop and execute a plan.
The bad news is that very few of these articles contain any useful information about how to solve the problems. That said, the truth is our politicians have allowed these problems to become so complex that offering detailed plans in an article would be a very tough task.
Occasionally, I read about people or organizations that have offered specific ideas for solutions, and I appreciate their courage in doing so — regardless of whether I agree with their proposal.
One such article that I recently read was about a proposal from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).
The title of the article is, "A proposal would cap Social Security at $100,000. Will it fly?"
Although the maximum that any one person can receive under Social Security currently is approximately $62,172 per year, there are a small number of couples who receive over $100,000 when their benefits are combined.
As you may have guessed based on the title of the article, the CRFB proposal would cap these couples at $100,000 in total benefits. Additionally, this proposal would cap any individual from receiving more than $50,000 in annual benefits.
Although this would not represent a significant savings to Social Security immediately, CRFB believes this change would make a significant difference over time.
It will likely not surprise you to learn there are some organizations against this proposal. Among these is AARP, because they believe it would prevent people from receiving benefits they have earned.
AARP has a point; however, it's also true that doing nothing is not an option, and to my knowledge they have not yet put forth a specific plan.
The fact is there will be pain involved in any plan to stabilize Social Security.
The question is how much pain, and who will bear the brunt of it?
Unfortunately, there will also be pain if we do nothing — undoubtedly much more pain.
The Social Security OASDI Trust Fund is set to run out of money in 2032 under current projections. If this were to happen, every retiree collecting Social Security at that time would see a 28% cut in benefits.
Such a cut would not only mean pain for retirees, but it would also mean pain for businesses in every community where retirees spend money, as well as the U.S. economy as a whole.
Although I am not ready to say the CRFB proposal represents the best solution to the problem, I believe the organization deserves credit for putting a specific proposal forward.
I wish other organizations would do more in the way of offering potential solutions to problems, as opposed to just pointing out problems and then making a general call for Congress to fix them.
Better yet, it would be great if these organizations would work together to develop specific proposals and then call on Congress to support them.
Most members of Congress seem to have re-election as their number one priority, when their real priority should be solving problems for the American people.
Their misplaced priority explains why they lack political courage and often makes things so complicated that the average person can't understand what is happening.
By creating confusion, they create deception that favors their chances for re-election.
If organizations were to get together to develop and push specific plans to solve problems, this would take away the wiggle room for confusion that Congress has created and force them to act. Although I think it is highly unlikely that groups will come together to agree on a plan to save Social Security, there is a precedent that forced Congress to act many years ago.
In 1981, President Reagan created a bipartisan commission, known as the Greenspan Commission, to develop recommendations to extend the solvency of Social Security. This group's recommendations led to the Social Security Amendments of 1983, which stabilized Social Security for roughly the next 50 years. (Read more here: Microsoft Word - 2000323-Myth-and-Reality-of-the-Safety-Net-The-1983-Social-Security-Reforms.docx)
I believe a similar commission will be necessary if we are to solve the Social Security crisis that is only a few years away. Once a panel is appointed, and their recommendations are in, Congress will be forced to act.
Please call or write your congressmen and senators and ask them to support a bipartisan commission to save Social Security, like the one formed during the Reagan years.
It's our best hope for avoiding a potential crisis.
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Joe from Texas is a family man with children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He's experienced tremendous success and lived the American Dream. His beliefs are both straightforward and deeply held. He believes in God, his family, and the United States of America. Read more Joe Penland, Sr. Insider articles Click Here Now.
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