We are told time and again that elections matter and that elections have consequences and that is no more true than in 2020. The two different candidates for president have different ideas on all topics, maybe no more so than Social Security.
To be fair President Donald Trump has said he will preserve Social Security, but a recent article from The Motley Fool written by Sean Williams highlights the three different ways Trump has proposed cutting Social Security benefits in the past.
The first way is to reduce Social Security disability benefits. A disabled worker who meets medical guidelines is entitled to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benets up to 12 months prior to filing the disability application. To some this might seem excessive, but it’s really not. Many times a worker is unable to work and impaired sometimes months or even years before they decide to file for disability benefits, so they are not likely getting benefits for the entire time they are found disabled. As Williams points out, each of Trump’s budget proposals have called for an overhaul of the SSDI program to eliminate fraud and abuse, but the proposal also calls for limiting retroactive benefits to six months rather than 12 months. For people who are already not likely receiving a full amount of benefits while they have been unable to work this is additionally punitive.
Another proposal Trump floated during the 2016 campaign was “means testing.” This proposal would impact seniors who are more well off than other seniors by either reducing their Social Security retirement benefits or even eliminating them all together. The idea is to phase out benefits for people who would earn more than their present income. This is another way to punish people to save money. Social Security benefits are modest and people work their entire lives to earn what they receive from Social Security.
The last idea Trump has that would be harmful to Social Security is the elimination of the payroll tax. You may have heard Trump float the idea as part of a COVID-19 stimulus package. He has said he would push for this plan if he is re-elected to office. The elimination of the 12.4 percent payroll tax would result in the defunding of Social Security by more than $944 billion. This idea is just reckless because Trump has not identified any way to make up the money Social Security would be losing.
Elections certainly do matter and with these ideas the president has already suggested, four more years of Donald Trump could be costly for Social Security programs, retired individuals and those who receive Social Security disability benefits.
