Social Security just needs some TLC

To borrow from Mark Twain, reports of the death of Social Security are greatly exaggerated.

Social Security is not dead. It is not dying. It is, in fact, alive and well.

{mosads}However, we must work to ensure it stays that way.

Too many beneficiaries are hurting today, constantly on the edge of a crisis. And, as America ages, more and more people are going to depend on Social Security payments.

That’s why we joined Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) to introduce the Strengthening Social Security Act, which will ensure a robust system for current recipients and protect it for future generations.

Last month marked the 81st anniversary of Social Security as our nation’s vital social safety net program. It is the single most important source of income for many senior citizens and it is lifting 21 million Americans out of poverty.

If you don’t believe that, ask Wanda Witter of New York. Because of a simple error, her Social Security payments were reduced. Unable to keep up on rent she was made homeless. While literally living on the streets, she found a lawyer who helped her prove the Social Security Administration owed her money. She then received back payments and she started getting her full benefit again. Now she can afford a home and the medical care that keeps her healthy. 

Even the many Americans who, unlike Wanda, have been receiving their full benefits all along, are still hurting. That’s after being denied a cost of living increase this year despite rising healthcare costs and other expenses. From 2014 to 2015, seniors saw medical costs increase by 2.4 percent while their Social Security payout remains the same—an effective pay cut for millions of Americans.

At the same time, Republicans have renewed their calls for privatizing Social Security. This would end Social Security as we know it and endanger this critical social safety net.

This is not acceptable.

That is why we must reaffirm our commitment to not only protecting Social Security, but expanding it for the greater numbers needing it in the future. Maintaining a decent standard of life for millions of Americans should not only be an aspiration—it should be a core goal of our society.

The good news: the solution is actually very simple.

We have all heard that Social Security will run out of money. We’ve heard proposals to privatize it, raise the retirement age, or reduce benefits.

These “solutions” are wrongheaded and dangerous. The question we should be asking is whether everyone is paying their fair share into the program.

Currently, Americans only pay taxes into Social Security on the first $118,500 they earn per year. This means the wealthiest in our society are paying an extremely smaller fraction of their income into Social Security as compared to everyone else.

Our bill would make sure that the rich pay their fair share by phasing out this arbitrary cap, and would use this revenue to increase benefits across the board and extend the longevity of the program.

Once the Strengthening Social Security Act is fully in effect, many seniors would see their benefits go up between 7 and 12 percent per month. For millions of Americans, that much can be the difference between comfort and hunger, between health and severe sickness, and even between being safe and being made homeless.

This bill also changes the way Social Security calculates cost of living increases, to account for the fact that seniors spend more of their income on costs such as health care, which are rising faster than costs for other goods.

We know how necessary Social Security is for the people here in California and across the country. We will not sit idly by while others talk about dismantling a program that is so fundamental to our society.

It is not an exaggeration to say the power to improve the lives of current Social Security beneficiaries and to strengthen Social Security for future generations rests well within our reach. It is, in fact, a fact and it’s just a matter of political will. 

The views expressed by authors are their own and not the views of The Hill.