New Study Finds Sanders’ Legislation Would Extend Social Security Solvency By 40 Years

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2016/02/07/new-study-finds-sanders-legislation-would-extend-social-security-solvency-by-40-years/

A new report released this week determined that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ legislation to strengthen Social Security would extend the life of the program by an additional 40 years, from 2034 to 2074. Instead of allowing the wealthy to continue manipulating tax laws, Sanders intends to remove the tax cap for the rich while fighting to keep Social Security alive.

“Millions of Americans have worked hard to earn their Social Security benefits and depend on those benefits to keep them out of poverty when they can no longer work,” Sanders wrote in a statement on Thursday. “Today’s projections show that we can significantly expand Social Security benefits while also extending the life of the program to 2074. All that is required is the political will to tell the wealthiest Americans to pay the same rate as everyone else.”

Last year, Sanders introduced the Social Security Expansion Act to extend the solvency of the program and ensure that the wealthy begin paying their fair share. Under current law, the amount of income subject to the payroll tax is capped at $118,500. That means millionaires and billionaires pay the same amount in payroll taxes as people making $118,500 a year. Sanders’ bill would subject all income over $250,000 to the payroll tax. According to the Center for Economic Policy, only the top 1.5 percent of wage earners would be impacted.

On Thursday, the Social Security’s Office of the Chief Actuary found that Sanders’ legislation would extend the solvency of the program from the current estimate of 2034 to 2074. The increase in Social Security benefits would provide an additional $1,300 a year to seniors with less than $16,000 in income. Sanders’ bill would also increase the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients while fighting to significantly reduce the senior poverty rate.

[Hydra]

1. "Class warfare! We cannot tax the rich!"

Funny how by fighting tooth and nail against small things like this, they are paving the way towards bigger and better projects such as education for all and guaranteed minimum incomes.

[hedda_foil]

2. Wow!

[wilsonbooks]

3. Snip....

The increase in Social Security benefits would provide an additional $1,300 a year to seniors with less than $16,000 in income. Sanders’ bill would also increase the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients while fighting to significantly reduce the senior poverty rate.

We need to get this message out.

[Sherman A1]

4. K&R!

[MisterP]

5. yeah, but then a popular lifesaving program would be around longer for more to use

and ideologues can't flog the podium about "gubmint means failure"

[TBF]

6. It needs to be a "Lock Box" -

and it will last far longer (assuming we can get rid of the cap & tax everyone on all of their earnings).

The biggest problem has always been Congress using it as a back-up account.