My Turn: Sanders - We're going to expand Social Security, not cut it

Sen. Bernie Sanders
Published 10:31 a.m. ET Sept. 17, 2018

Excerpt:

If Trump were serious about saving Social Security, which he is not, he would support the first bill I introduced this Congress. This legislation would expand Social Security benefits and extend its solvency for the next 60 years by requiring the wealthiest American households – those who make over $250,000 a year – to pay their fair share of Social Security taxes. Today, because of the earnings cap on Social Security taxes, a CEO making $20 million a year pays the same amount of money into Social Security as someone who makes $128,400 a year. That is absurd. At a time of massive income inequality, we need to lift this cap.

Under this bill, 98.4 percent of American workers would not see their taxes go up by a nickel while Social Security benefits would go up by about $1,300 a year a year for low-income seniors. Importantly, this bill would increase Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments (COLA) by more accurately measuring the spending patterns of seniors. Older Americans, by and large, are not going out on spending sprees buying big screen TVs, laptops, or the latest high-tech gadgets. Rather, they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on health care and prescription drugs and that should be reflected in the formula for calculating COLAs.

The vast majority of Vermonters understand that a moral society does not give tax breaks to billionaires, and then cut back on the needs of struggling seniors or people with disabilities. In fact, 72 percent of Americans “support increasing, not cutting Social Security benefits by asking millionaires and billionaires to pay more into the system.”

Our job now is to rally the American people to get our priorities right. At the top of that list is making sure that everyone in Vermont and throughout this country can retire with the dignity they have earned and all those struggling with a disability can live with the security they need.

Bernie Sanders, of Burlington, is the independent U.S. senator for Vermont.

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/opinion/2018/09/17/my-turn-sanders-were-going-expand-social-security-not-cut/1333993002/