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Advocacy for SS starts with facts:

AARP advocating for SS is great, but nowhere in its materials does it make clear which US political party has in itโ€™s current policy statement the intention to raise retirement/SS age and make the entire program subject to a re-authorization vote every 5 years. Is this the Democratic or Republican agenda? To protect SS, should we vote for GOP candidates or Dem candidates?

 
What value is alerting people to the need for advocacy without actually, well, advocating for candidates that will support your efforts?
Be plain, and transparent.

 

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Regular Contributor

SS trust fund is not financially stable and major benefit cuts WILL happen if nothing is done....and SOON (giving the years it takes to turn huge programs around).  I will be voting for candidates who advocate pursuing practical changes to SS and its financing.  Any candidate or Party which offers nothing more than general platitudes is NOT serious about saving SS and not worthy of being elected. 

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Honored Social Butterfly

The SS trust fund was never stable and never will be due to it being set up where the current workers  pay for the retiree benefits. When the programs were set up they covered all who reached the age set forth in the law in a very short time. These people paid very little into the program so the    younger working people paid more to make up the difference. Try buying life insurance at age 85 for a cheap price when it is age rated. Long term care coverage is another example. Like it or not we have two parties. One supports both programs, and one does not and that shows up every time a change is needed. We are luckily both parties have accepted till now these programs can not be killed so they come up with a short term fix. This has gone on for years now. Sadly that might fall apart shortly. Understand there is one party  that wants both programs to end. That is one reason AARP was created to stop the end of both programs, and support improvements to both.

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Bronze Conversationalist

@john258 You previously posted about the SS Programs being reauthorized every 5 years. Now, you post that one party wants the SS Programs to end. Which party is it? I have not read or heard any such proposals. Once again, if you have access to any such proposals, please send so we are all on the same page. FYI, there are approximately 65 million folks receiving SS benefits in access of $1 Trillion per year. Do you have any idea how a party would even begin to end monthly benefits? What about Medicare which pays for hospital, medical, and drug expenses? What will replace those SS Programs? Will everyone be transferred to Medicaid? How will the Federal Government find the money (taxes) to pay monthly benefits and medical expenses? Is this party you are referring to suggesting increasing federal income taxes perhaps 15.2% or more to fund such a transfer/move? Or, is this party suggesting a complete termination of all SS Programs? You may not realize that SS benefits are used for personal consumption (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) and contribute to the Gross Domestic Product of our country. Medicare benefits help support the hospital, physician, pharmacy, etc.providers in our country. It is complicated and dynamic. I can't imagine any party would even think about ending the SS Programs.  

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Honored Social Butterfly

SS doesn't need to be reauthorized every few years BUT IT DEFINITELY DOES NEED TO BE SCRUTINIZED EVERY FEW YEARS BY CONGRESS and initiate whatever they have to to head off financial decline and stays financially healthy.  Right now we have lots of proposals but nothing that actually makes it financially healthy for the long term (actuarily 75 years.)

Congress doesn't seem to want to touch it in today's fiscal and political climate - and they haven't for years and years.

Come 2034 or there about - the law may just solve itself and cut benefits automatically if it reaches a certain point in financial decline - we are already paying out more in benefits than what we receive in contributions.  We use to have like 50 people working for every few people getting a benefit - no longer - jobs have been mechanized or eliminated by technology.  

 

This condition didn't happen overnight - they knew that all of us Baby Boomers were gonna be hitting the system.

If I read each SS Trustee Reports even back to the early 2000's - there are CAUTIONS written in each and ever Conclusion -

Why do we even do the report if no action is taken?

2022 SS Trustee Report Summary

from the link~

CONCLUSION:

Lawmakers have many policy options that would reduce or eliminate the long-term financing shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare. Taking action sooner rather than later will allow consideration of a broader range of solutions and provide more time to phase in changes so that the public has adequate time to prepare.

 

 

 

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Honored Social Butterfly

Suggest you catch up on what has taken place the past few months.  Sen.Rick Scott released the Rep. plans for the Senate if they win control. One of the plans was to extend SS and Medicare for     5 years then congress would have to reauthorize the programs or they would die. These plans were withdrawn about a week later.The GOP realized what a blunder they created.

You can not run either of these plans on a 5 year and die basis. They need the approach taken when they were created. They were here for ever.  The Rep. have opposed both programs since they were started and tried many times to destroy them by changing them. We saw it with the medicare drug program where the drug cos. were given free run to make millions when they got their way and SS could not bargain with them on  drug prices. We saw an attempt to allow part of a persons SS account to be used to purchase a private pension plan from a broker. That did not pass. We saw in Medicare the Advantage program created which SS paid an Insurance Carrier to handle a persons benefit for what the cost to SS was plus 15%. The 15% has been reduced and the Dems want to make it zero %.

Fact is the Rep have opposed SS and Medicare since day one, and have tried to kill both programs many times even now they try.

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Honored Social Butterfly

Perhaps you misunderstood my post to the OP -

I said, SS doesn't need to be reauthorized every few years BUT IT DEFINITELY DOES NEED TO BE SCRUTINIZED EVERY FEW YEARS BY CONGRESS and initiate whatever they have to head off financial decline and stays financially healthy.

 

I said nothing about any party affiliation - It is a responsibility of Congress to keep these entitlement programs working as they should; making sure that they don't self-destruct.  

The historic SS balance sheets shows the problem with the numbers - revenues vs expenses.  We are now paying out more benefits than what is coming in with revenues.  

SSA.gov Social Security Trust Fund Data

 

In the last 20 years, there have been numerous Presidential Commissions assigned to evaluate the problem with fiscal solvency and make recommendations - none of the recommendations of whatever type or validity have come to pass.  

 

There are hundreds of legislative proposals that have been submitted to the SS Actuary for evaluation as to their financial effect on the system but none have been passed into law and most have not even been assigned a committee.   

SSA.gov - Office of the Chief Actuary's Estimates of Proposals to Change the Social Security Program...

 

What they do all agree on is the Conclusion of every SSS Trustee Report issued for years back:

Conclusion

Lawmakers have many policy options that would reduce or eliminate the long-term financing shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare. Taking action sooner rather than later will allow consideration of a broader range of solutions and provide more time to phase in changes so that the public has adequate time to prepare.

2022 SS Trustee Report Summary

Also from the 2022 Report:

Social Security and Medicare both face long-term financing shortfalls under currently scheduled benefits and financing. Costs of both programs will grow faster than gross domestic product (GDP) through the mid-2030s primarily due to the rapid aging of the U.S. population. Medicare costs will continue to grow faster than GDP through the late 2070s due to projected increases in the volume and intensity of services provided.

 

. . . .  Based on our best estimates, the 2022 reports determine:

โ€ข The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivors benefits, will be able to pay scheduled benefits on a timely basis until 2034, one year later than reported last year. At that time, the fund's reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits.

 

But yet, they do nothing - so Rome continues to burn and there are still millions (10,000 a day) of Baby boomers being added to the SS Retirement system.

 

Medicare (Part A) has similar problems.

 

 

 

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Honored Social Butterfly

I did not misunderstand your post but you left out what was currently happening in Congress. Right now you are correct SS does not need to be reauthorized 5 years but if the Rep have their way it will have to be reauthorized every 5 years and that will kill it.  You should have said something about the Rep. plan to end SS because that is the way people can save it. Do not vote Rep. Like it or not voters need to speak for SS to keep it, and that means not vetoing for Rep in Nov. The Rep told us what they will do in the next Congress if they get control. You stop that by not vetoing for them period. The Rep plan has nothing to do with long term problems in SS and how to fix them. The rep plan is end SS in 5 years if they can, and they are counting on people who have little understanding of their plan to allow that. You would seem to be for their approach by your post to me. I hope I am wrong and you will join with all other supporters of SS and defeat the Rep this Nov. as that way we solve the problem.

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Bronze Conversationalist

@john258 I am not aware of any proposal that would require the SS Program to be reauthorized by Congress every 5 years. You may have misinterpreted Media articles written about Senator Scott's suggestion which by no means is a formal Republican Party proposal. I am providing a link to an article by Factcheck.org that addresses Senator Scott's comments. https://www.factcheck.org/2022/04/democrats-misleadingly-claim-republicans-plan-would-end-social-sec... If you have any articles that indicate a reauthorization of the SS Program every 5 years whether Democratic or Republication initiated, please provide a copy. 

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Honored Social Butterfly

What you use as support is the drawback after his proposal was put forth. Have no fear based on prior performance if the Scott Crew gains a majority the 5 year plan will be back. Sadly a lot of people get fooled and really think SS & Medicare are safe. Scott has shown how his party plans to proceed.

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Regular Contributor

One individual legislator's sound bite does not represent the 'official' views of any Party as a whole.

But official Gov't financial stats clearly show SS & Medicare as we know them are NOT safe as it stands now. Both are in serious fiscal peril if Congress does not act somehow to stabilize them (projected Trust fund depletions in 8 years or less).  The ongoing partisan bickering has done NOTHING to shore up these Programs. 

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Honored Social Butterfly

That legislator is in charge of what his party will do in the next session, and he was putting forth the parties platform. You are correct SS and Medicare are not safe now. The people can change that in Nov. by not vetoing for anyone who opposes SS and Medicare. The partisan bickering as you call it has been going on since both programs were created. The Dems for and the Rep against the programs. The people now should choose a side and end it in Nov. I want the programs to stay and will be vetoing for that. Lets see what happens in Nov.

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Regular Contributor

Actually "that legislator" (Rick Scott) is not "in charge" of his Party, and in fact is not even an officer in the Republican National Committee (which is the organization which actually writes the Party's platform).  As the FactCheck link clearly documented, what he advocated is 5 year reviews and not ending the Programs.  And many leaders in his own Party do not support his proposals.

 

I also want SS & Medicare to "stay", and discussing practical solutions is critical to accomplishing that goal. Legislators refusing to compromise on substantive reforms is the surest road to the eventual demise of SS & Medicare as we know them. I cannot vote for any candidate who blindly refuses any changes to shore up the long term fiscal health of these Programs. 

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Honored Social Butterfly

He was involved in the drafting of next years plans for the GOP. The 5 year review was the starting point to end the program as a program like SS and Medicare can not work when it is up for ending every 5 years. All they have to do is do nothing and it ends. 

If you want SS and Medicare to stay then support the people running for office who support them, and 90% of those people are in one party. SS was set up for the current working people to support the retires, and to change that approach will cost the people in taxes beyond belief. Medicare can become cheaper if we go to an under 65 Medicare program and use a trust fund for each. When people do not understand the entire problems of both programs they are the blind ones not the people running for office.

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Moderator
Moderator

Hello everyone,

Please remember to post according to the community guidelines, and refrain from insults and inflammatory comments.

 

Also keep to the subject and do not drift off into politically motivated back and forth.

YOU MUST RESPECT OTHER POSTERS EVEN IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THEM



Also, please be welcoming of new posters, even when you argue with their positions.

Thank you for your cooperation in making the AARP Community a safe and welcoming place for all.
http://community.aarp.org/t5/custom/page/page-id/Guidelines

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