Time is now for bipartisan commission for the future of Social Security |
As we prepare to cast ballots this fall, we expect our elected leaders to talk about the most important issues that impact our lives. But in Senate races happening across the country this year, this expectation is not being met on an issue affecting 70 million Americans--the impending insolvency of Social Security's retirement program that is coming in less than seven years.
As a former member of Congress, I understand that seven years seems like a long time. In the political world we normally just respond to the urgency of the moment, but the time to act is now.
Let's start by setting the stakes. Should our elected officials fail to act in time to avoid insolvency, the impact on retirees will be consequential and immediate: a mandatory 24 percent benefit cut across the board. For a typical newly retired couple, this would equate to an annual loss of $18,400.
How did this happen? Lawmakers from both parties have known about--and neglected--the impending pain from Social Security's funding problems for years. Benefit costs have exceeded program revenues since 2010, forcing the program to eat through all the reserves built up between the late 1980s and the early 2000s just to pay retirees the full........