Social Security’s deep popularity among voters has earned it a reputation as the third rail of politics, meaning Congress is afraid to touch it.
But the program’s finances require reform, and soon. The trust fund set up to fill a shortfall between what the government takes in for Social Security and what it pays out is due to run out of money in 2035. When that happens, benefits will be automatically and indiscriminately slashed. That is, unless Congress addresses funding now by either cutting benefits or raising taxes, a choice no politician can stomach. Hence, the third rail.
And yet, Americans are not torn about how the government should deal with the building crisis in Social Security. Quite the opposite. In overwhelming numbers across political parties, ages and demographics, Americans want Congress to raise revenue to preserve benefits. They are more than fine with paying higher taxes to shore up the program.
That’s according to a new survey from the National Academy of Social Insurance that probed American attitudes toward Social Security. The findings were clear: No cuts and no big changes to how the program works. Just fund it.
In its survey, the National Academy of Social Insurance respondents revealed the policies they favor the strongest. The winner by far was to eliminate or increase the taxable earnings cap, which is $176,100 and rises each year with the average growth in wages. Doing so could address up to 70% of the long-term shortfall. Also strongly favored: