Eliminating Waste In The Ssdi Program
To begin with, each of President Trump’s federal budget proposals while in office have of the Social Security Disability Insurance program, which was providing benefits to nearly 9.8 million people, as of August 2020. This overhaul focused on eliminating wasteful spending within SSDI, as well as reducing retroactive benefits paid to eventually approved beneficiaries from a period of 12 months to six months.
Since presidential budget proposals estimate the economic impact of fiscal policy actions for a period of 10 years, Trump’s federal budgets were expected to reduce SSDI outlays by the following amounts over the subsequent decade :
- Fiscal 2020:$26 billion
- Fiscal 2021: $24 billion
There are two things worth noting here. First, these figures are a drop in the bucket relative to what Social Security is expected to outlay over the next decade. According to estimates, Social Security is estimated to expend more than $15 trillion, in aggregate, over the next 10 years. This means a $24 billion to $72 billion outlay reduction to resolve perceived inefficiencies in the SSDI program represents a mere fraction of total outlays.
Second, presidential budget proposals have historically represented nothing more than a starting point for more thorough budget discussions in Congress. This is to say that none of Trump’s four proposals were ever given much credence as concrete spending plans.
Image source: Getty Images.
Republicans Very Much Dislike The Current Cola Measurement
You should understand that the Republican Party doesnt like the current inflationary tether, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers .
The biggest issue Republicans have with the CPI-W is that it doesnt do a very good job of measuring the inflation that seniors are facing, thereby resulting in an inaccurate cost-of-living adjustment each year. Thats because, as the name implies, the CPI-W tracks the spending habits of urban and clerical workers, who in nearly all instances arent receiving a Social Security check. Essentially, seniors annual raise is tied to the spending habits of non-seniors, and that doesnt sit well with anyone in Congress.
In particular, Republicans would like to replace the CPI-W with the Chained CPI. The Chained CPI takes into account the idea of substitution bias, which involves trading down from a pricier good or service to something less expensive if prices go up. For example, if the price of ground beef rises 40%, you might buy pork or chicken instead. The CPI-W does not take into account substitution bias.
Although substitution bias does take into account a real-life purchasing strategy of consumers, the consensus view among pundits is that it would result in lower annual COLAs more years than not, relative to the CPI-W.
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Lake Who Worked In Local Tv News Now Calls Reporters Monsters
One longtime former co-worker in the television news business recalled that Kari Lake detested guns and practiced Buddhism. Another former local news anchor, Stephanie Angelo, who did not work with Ms. Lake but later became close friends with her, described Ms. Lake back then as liberal to the core.
Her saying that abortion should be illegal absolutely not, Ms. Angelo said.
But in her run for governor of Arizona, Ms. Lake, a former local Fox anchor, has refashioned herself as a protégée of Donald Trump and a die-hard Christian conservative who has turned her former industry into a foil. And in her closing pitch to voters before the election on Tuesday, Ms. Lake, 53, has been campaigning against the press as much as she has against Katie Hobbs, her Democratic rival.
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Midterm Updates: Democrats Call Out Democracy Threats Trump Rallies With Oz
With the election just days away, candidates are fanning out on the campaign trail with support from their respective parties biggest names.
A Call For Means Testing
Another pathway to Social Security benefit cuts, loosely proposed by President Trump while on the campaign trail four years ago, is means testing, which would partially or fully phase-out benefits for individuals who earn more than preset income thresholds. In other words, it would keep well-to-do seniors from receiving a full benefit or perhaps any benefit at all, if they aren’t reliant on their Social Security income to make ends meet.
Trump has previously suggested that he wouldn’t take a Social Security benefit and that other wealthy individuals should follow suit. However, without seeing Trump’s tax returns, it’s unknown whether or not the president is currently receiving a monthly payout from the program.
Additionally, it’s worth pointing out that President Trump has never made means testing for Social Security benefits an official proposal. It was merely a discussion point tossed out by Trump prior to his 2016 election as a way to reduce Social Security’s long-term outlays.
Image source: Getty Images.
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Trump Has Tossed Around A Number Of Surprising Solutions
Of course, it’s also important to understand that Trump’s views on Social Security have changed considerably over time, and he has, on occasion, tossed around a number of ideas that you may find surprising.
Back in 2000, in his book The America We Deserve, Trump proposed the idea of a one-time 14.25% tax on individuals with a net worth of more than $10 million. In Trump’s view, this one-time tax would have allowed the federal government to collect enough revenue to pay off its national debt , saving it $200 billion annually on interest payments. Trump proposed taking $100 billion of this $200 billion in annual savings and adding it to the Social Security program over a 10-year time frame.
Donald Trump has also loosely tossed around the idea of means-testing for benefits. Means-testing would partially reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits once an individual or couple crosses above a preset earnings threshold. Since Social Security was designed to predominantly protect low-income workers during retirement, such a move would ensure that the rich aren’t receiving payments they don’t need.
Trump even once offered up the idea of partially privatizing Social Security — a view he now steers clear of. In The America We Deserve, Trump suggests that workers have the option of utilizing personal accounts to invest in stocks, bonds, diversified mutual funds, and bonds funds.
The point being that Trump may be more open to a middle-ground solution than most folks realize.
Trumps Push To Cut Payroll Taxes Opens A Democratic Line Of Attack
Because the taxes provide funding for Social Security, Democrats have seized on the issue as they try to erode support for the president among older voters.
By Annie Karni and Thomas Kaplan
WASHINGTON When President Trump announced that he was unilaterally deferring payroll taxes to bring economic relief to struggling Americans, he and his aides thought it would allow them to frame him as pro-worker.
But the move comes with political risks. Eliminating the payroll tax could jeopardize the funding stream for Social Security, which is one of the governments most popular programs, providing benefits to about 65 million people.
The president has given Democrats an opening to raise Social Security cuts as an issue in the final months of an election in which his support among older voters already appears to be shaky.
On Monday, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. capitalized on the opportunity. Donald Trump said that if hes re-elected, hell defund Social Security, he tweeted. We cant let that happen.
The Democratic National Committee amplified the line of attack the next day, blasting out a statement that highlighted At Least 7 Times Trump Said He Will Permanently Eliminate Funds To Social Security And Medicare.
He is now balancing the potential benefits of giving working people more money in their paychecks at least temporarily versus undercutting his own pledge from the 2016 campaign that he would protect entitlement programs.
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For 70 Million Americans The Presidents Bid To End The Payroll Tax Could Be The Most Important Election Issue Of All
One way U.S. voters are being played during this presidential election campaign is the deceitful manner in which key issues are being framed for their consumption. Arguably the biggest and most important of these concerns the so-called third rail of American politics: Social Security.
President Donald Trump has vowed to kill funding for this critical, gargantuan program that nearly 70 million Americans depend on.
What? You havent heard Trump say he wants to kill Social Securitys funding? Actually, you have. Trump says he wants to kill the payroll tax which is how Social Security is funded.
Perhaps like many Americans, youre unaware of how Social Security is financed. It comes from payroll taxes that are paid by you and your employer. The past four years have convinced me that there are many other things that Trumps supporters dont seem to understand either but I digress.
If victorious on November 3rd, the president said on Aug. 8th, I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax. He then added: Im going to make them all permanent.
So when Trump talks of a payroll tax cut, you might think that sounds great. A tax cut! But this is deceptive election year politics, designed to take advantage of voter ignorance. Anyone in the media thats going along with Trumps framing of this as a mere tax cut is also being played.
We Must Be Careful To Not Start Believing Lies But To Have Discernment With These Issues Be Sure To Share This Article With Your Friends
The order is technically a deferral of payroll taxes not a suspension meaning that the taxes will eventually be due at a later date. However, Trump has pledged to pursue a permanent cut to the taxes.
If Im victorious on Nov. 3, I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax. Im going to make them all permanent, Trump said during a Saturday news conference. In other words, Ill extend beyond the end of the year and terminate the tax. . . .
Kudlow added that he thinks Trumps intent is that we will take any steps possible to forgive this deferral. Thats what he was actually saying. We will protect Social Security. We will protect Medicare.
I think he meant the deferral would be forgiven, the White House adviser responded. I think he was saying that the savings on the deferral will be permanent. He did not mean that he was eliminating the Social Security tax.
The president signed a series of executive orders on Saturday, including one that permits employers to defer payment of payroll taxes through 2020 for employees making less than about $100,000 annually. Trump then committed to make the cuts permanent if he is reelected.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticized Trump for that commitment, saying it would undermine the entire financial footing of Social Security.
To watch a video explaining what Trump actually said, click the link below:
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Trump Betrays Seniors By Ordering Social Security Cuts
The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding President Trumps statement that he plans to sign an executive order to cut the payroll tax.
After learning that Democratic and Republican Congressional Leaders would not go along with his harebrained scheme to cut Social Securitys dedicated funding source, President Trump lashed out and announced he would begin dismantling the system single-handedly.
Seniors pay for their housing, food and medicine with their Social Security, putting $1 trillion into our economy every year. Older Americans have earned their benefits through a lifetime of work. Their retirement security should not be put at risk because President Trump is mad at Congress for not bending to his will.
The 4.4 million members of the Alliance for Retired Americans will fight this attempt to gut Social Security, and when voting starts in September we will remember who was willing to defend and protect our earned benefits.
Michigan Democrats Tell Voters The Integrity Of Future Elections Is At Stake
DETROIT The speeches kept returning to issues of democracy.
From Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Jocelyn Benson, the secretary of state, to Kerry Washington, the actress, each speaker at a Saturday night rally in downtown Detroit placed existential weight on the midterm elections.
Every vote that is cast in this election will determine whether your votes are going to be counted in future elections, said Ms. Benson, who closed her remarks by leading the crowd in a vote for democracy chant.
Ms. Whitmer entered to the booming beats of Gretch Did, an homage from Gmac Cash, a Detroit rapper. She boasted of a court finding the states 1931 voting law unconstitutional through a lawsuit, as well as blocking new voting laws passed by the Republican-led state legislature.
My vetoes are whats protecting our voting rights, and I am damn glad Ive got that veto pen, she said.
Ms. Whitmer warned of waking up after Election Day with an election-denier in office who would be willing to overrule the will of the people.
The rally, which was held in Detroit, the center of Democratic power in the state, comes as early-vote turnout in the city is lagging. Earlier this week, the Detroit city clerk projected turnout to be between 28 and 33 percent. Turnout in Detroit was 41 percent during the 2018 midterms.
My question to you is How many people are you going to inspire? How many people are you going to mobilize? he said. Because somebody needs to hear from every last one of yall.
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Biden Says Florida’s Desantis Is ‘donald Trump Incarnate’
GOLDEN BEACH, Fla., Nov 1 – President Joe Biden on Tuesday cast potential 2024 Republican rival Ron DeSantis as “Donald Trump incarnate,” warning voters days before U.S. midterm elections that Republicans could take away their healthcare and retirement benefits.
“Charlie is running against Donald Trump incarnate,” Biden said at a fundraising event for Charlie Crist, the Florida Democratic candidate for governor, who is running against DeSantis, the state’s incumbent Republican governor.
The comments were Biden’s sharpest yet against DeSantis, who is widely believed to be considering a presidential run in 2024, along with former President Trump. Biden, whose approval rating is hovering around 40%, has said he intends to run but not formally declared his candidacy.
With just seven days to go until elections that will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress and the ability to pass Biden’s agenda, the Democratic president made his first trip in office to Florida of a partisan nature. Biden lost the state to Trump in 2020.
The president’s trip also included a campaign event for U.S. Representative Val Demings, a Democrat who is seeking a Senate seat held by Republican Marco Rubio, as well as a speech attacking Republican policies on Social Security, Medicare and prescription drugs.
Florida has one the largest shares of senior citizens among U.S. states. One in five residents is over the age of 65.
Our Rating: Partly False
Based on our research, the claim that Trump said he will “terminate” Social Security if he is reelected is PARTLY FALSE. Trump recently signed an order offering temporary relief from the payroll tax that funds Social Security, and he has repeatedly said he’d terminate the tax entirely if he’s reelected.
But ending the tax that pays for Social Security and ending the Social Security program itself are not the same. When asked, Trump said he the measures would have “zero impact” on Social Security, and he said he’d “protect” the program. And it’s true that he could advocate an alternate source of funding, like the general fund although it would have to go through Congress first.
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Did Trump Say He Will Terminate Social Security If Re
If Your Time is short
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Trump has deferred about $100 billion in payroll tax payments through the end of the year. The payroll tax currently funds 90% of Social Security.
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Trump told reporters that if he wins re-election he wanted to terminate the programs primary funding source. He cant do that on his own.
A Facebook post has a dire warning about the future of Social Security under President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump says he will terminate Social Security if re-elected,” states the Aug. 10 post by Social Security Works, a nonprofit group that supports expanding the federal program. “A vote for Trump is a vote to destroy our Social Security system.”
This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
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Trump did use the word “terminate” when speaking about the payroll tax that funds Social Security, but his actual memo only pauses the tax for some employees for a few months. Trump hasnt said he would end Social Security payments, but he has made comments that many have interpreted as him wanting to eliminate the payroll tax entirely.
That means someone making the median weekly wage of about $1,000 would see an extra $62 in their paycheck. Trumps memo applies to people making up to $2,000 per week, so people who earn $104,000 a year or higher wouldnt get the tax break.
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