Social Security is in trouble, but it can be fixed if we put it in the hands of people who know how to do it, Texas businessman Joe Penland told Newsmax.
"It's going to run out in nine years or less. We have almost 70 million people on Social Security today. That's going to double the poverty rate overnight if we don't do something," Penland told Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda."
Social Security is a major source of income for nearly every retiree and protecting the program is a key concern for many voters ahead of the November election.
Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have vowed to protect Social Security, but absent action from Congress, the trust fund that pays out benefits is due to run out in 2033. At that time, only 79% of benefits will be payable.
Penland said lawmakers need to "look back in history at what Ronald Reagan had to do when it was handed to him in 1981, when we could not pay the next month's Social Security without borrowing money."
"He put a commission together. They got the right people on it. They studied it for a couple of years, and they came back with some proposals. Social Security can be fixed," he told Newsmax.
"The man that was there when that was being done was obviously Mr. [Alan] Greenspan. They call it the Greenspan Commission. He was not the Fed chairman at the time, but they had five Democrats, five Republicans, and five people from the business sector.
"We need to let experts work on this, and I don't think this is really what the candidates need to be focused on. They need to make sure that they commit, that they're going to make Social Security solvent forever, and that they'll put that in the hands of people that know how to do it and walk away from it," Penland said.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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