While I am wondering about the reason, timing and “wisdom” of the distinguished RINO across the aisle Thune to say something about SS now, .... unless my coffee did not kick in ... I read the entire article - there was no quote by Thune where he said “cutting” SS.
The reality for all my retired FRiends who are receiving SS, and those of us are within striking age to sign up for SS, ..., the current SS path is unsustainable. The baby boom continued retirements and excessive inflation causing automatic COLA to one’s SS benefit has brought the day for SS insolvency a lot closer in time. There are two basic options usually talked about - modify SS benefits (which could include cuts) and raise SS taxes on workers.
It seems SS started to really move towards insolvency when excessive SS wage receipts were commingled with general revenues which allowed a huge feral givernment non-SS expansion in non-SS. FDR got skewered by GOP and his own party for proposing a SS trust fund to meet future obligations. The system was run as close to pay-go as possible to keep the wage tax low. IOW - making SS receipts part of the revenue stream for non-SS out of control feral givernment “programs” is a very significant factor to driving SS insolvency.
OK Thune - I am in. Only immediate change to SS - SS receipts only for SS program. Then you can work on the debt ceiling for all of the other out of control givernment spending. No SS beneficiary would be affected as receipts can fund continuing obligations. But Congress is addicted to SS wage income and will never give it up, NEVER, and people read headlines that don’t match the article and panic like spooked cows in the pasture. Let me get out of the way.
“It seems SS started to really move towards insolvency when excessive SS wage receipts were commingled with general revenues”
That was done when the program was created.
Check out the Social Security “Trust Fund”.
Yes—it exists—pieces of paper in a file cabinet in West Virginia: