You want to know how much the U.S. empire cares about providing economic security for those at the end of their working lives? Stay tuned. Social Security, the program designed by FDR in 1935 to do just that, happens to be the largest program in the federal budget responsible for 21% of federal spending. Despite the high hopes that accompanied the legislation, its bragging rights are remarkably slim. The best one can point to is its longevity as the major source of income for whatever the government deems to be the retirement age. Its stingy benefits leave many seniors in the lurch. Like the 3 ½ million unable to afford life-saving medicine or the 5 ½ million officially classified as “food insecure” (government-speak for not enough to eat). The empire can be vindictive punishing 2 ½ million for the crime of never making enough money to repay their student loans.
The picture gets a lot darker when you compare the way senior Americans are treated with their peers in other countries. While social insurance plans around the globe pay out an average of 57.9% of workers’ earnings in retirement benefits, the payout in the U.S.is a pitiful 41% of earnings.
Born in 1962 and looking forward to 2027 when you reach the magic age of 65 and can retire with full benefits? Sorry to disappoint you but in 1983, your elected officials raised the retirement age to 67 delaying your government retirement benefits by two years. A move that will cost all affected seniors 13%.
In addition to other shortcomings, Social Security has also been bedeviled by wage inequality. In 2024,160 million workers will have 6.2% deducted from their wages all year to fund the program. But for 220 top earners, it was a matter of a few hours. For Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, it only took two hours. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the second and third richest people in the world, were done in less than 4 minutes. Why, you may ask incredulously. The U.S. Government has put a fail safe for the wealthy into the Social Security law only taxing the first $168,600 of income. The same law also excludes capital gains (investment income), a major source of compensation for the 1%. If would be a different America if the income cap and the capital gains exclusion did not exist. Ten wealthy Americans would have to pony up $3.5 billion to Social Security. Talk about wage inequality —the wealthiest pay 1% of their income to fund Social Security while ordinary Americans pay 6.2%.
Do Americans care about such gross unfairness? In a 2024 poll, 71% of likely U.S. voters want Congress to guarantee Social Security’s solvency “by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans” rather than cutting benefits. [Data For Progress]. If American democracy were real instead of happy talk on the campaign trail, the peoples’ wishes would have borne fruit decades ago. Who objects to Americans who have worked their whole adult lives ending up with a comfortable retirement? The millionaires and billionaires whose donations determine political winners.
While we’re on the subject of bought-and-paid for officials how about a subject that both sides of the aisle agree on — scamming seniors. Starting with the democrat Bill Clinton. He wanted to privatize Social Security. But a young intern and impeachment doomed his scheme. Next up, a republican George W. Bush took another bite at the privatization apple. This time an outraged public intervened. Then came Obama and the public saw a ray of hope. Soon dashed when he and Biden, his vice president, tried to formulate a “grand bargain” with the Republicans featuring benefit cuts. When their poll numbers started going south, they quickly backed off.
Joe Biden, president at last (third time around), didn’t break the mold. In 2018 he previewed his position on bilking seniors. —“Paul Ryan was right…what did he say we have to go after? Social Security and Medicare…that’s the only way you can find room to pay for it. When he was running for president, he took a strategic 180° and “vowed” not to go after Social Security.
Becoming president in 2020, history presented him a golden opportunity to be the president who saved Social Security. Instead of starting wars, he could have sent Congress a bill raising the cap on earnings. That act alone would have guaranteed recipients another 35 years of full benefits. Then he could have wiped out the exclusion on taxing capital gains. Social Security would have been funded for 75 years.
So much for that fantasy. He had a more important promise to keep than one another president made eight decades ago. At a campaign event for the ultra-rich, in exchange for boatloads of money he promised that in his administration “nothing would change.” In line with that promise, he nominated Andrew Biggs, senior fellow of the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, to a seat on the policy-making Social Security Advisory Board.
Andrew Biggs is a dream come true for America’s one percenters and a nightmare for the rest of Americans. A long-time supporter of benefit cuts who in 2013 opined on the retirement age— “idea that we can’t have a higher retirement age… flies in the face of the fact that people did, in fact, retire later in the past, and today’s jobs are less physically demanding than they were in the past.” Other notable parts of his rap sheet include a leading role in George W. Bush’s failed attempt to privatize Social Security in 2005 when he was an associate director of Bush’s National Economic Council.
Joe Biden nominated this critter to be on the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) not once, but twice in 2022 and 2023. He will undoubtedly come up for a vote in this session. The expected will become reality. “Progressives” will whine and hint darkly about voting no. When push comes to shove, they will cave.
Not the first time the people have endured a bipartisan kick in teeth. In 1983 when Congress raised the retirement age to 67 and now when the possibility exists that Congress will raise the retirement age to 70, costing future seniors a 20% cut in their lifetime benefits.
Shame on a rich country that cannot afford to keep the promise it made 89 years ago.
“It is a law [the Social Security Act] that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” [FDR 8/14/1935]
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