Voters are understandably nervous every time Congress or the president talks about changing Social Security. The only way to fix the program is to remove the politicians from the way.
Voters are understandably nervous every time Congress or the president talks about changing Social Security. The only way to fix the program is to remove the politicians from the way.
That means creating a legal right to promised benefits, establishing a Trust Fund Congress can’t touch, and allowing individuals to manage their own retirement age and tax payments. These three steps are practical, extraordinarily popular with voters, and would ensure the solvency of the Social Security system for generations.
The first step would legally obligate the Social Security system to pay all promised benefits to everyone who paid into the system. Most think that’s the way the system already works.
However, a 1960 Supreme Court ruling determined that no such legal obligation exists. Only 24% of voters today recognize that their future benefits are subject to the whims of Congress and the president.
The second step would be to create a truly independent Social Security Trust Fund where the principal and interest are fully protected for retirees. Sixty-three percent already think that’s the way it works. Rather than being part of the federal budget, these voters mistakenly believe it is a separate program paid for by the payroll contributions of workers.
There’s a reason people believe those things — it’s what politicians have been saying for decades.
