The Safety Net

Americans rely on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as a safety net. Trump plans on removing the safety net by eliminating the payroll tax. Payroll taxes are just that: taxes that come out of your paycheck. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll taxes and the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) taxes provide the money that funds Social Security and Disability Insurance. Trump has talked about eliminating the taxes. He claims that getting rid of them would put more money in people’s pockets.

However, the Chief Actuary for Social Security crunched the numbers behind Trump’s plan. Chief Actuary Stephen C. Goss said that the plan would end Disability Insurance in mid-2021 and Social Security by mid-2023. Goss explains Trump’s plan would almost immediately destroy Social Security and Disability Insurance.

The House passed a $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill in May, but the Senate refused to take it up. The Republican Senate caucus could not agree on any proposal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to participate. Republican McConnell is AWOL.

The Senate is still on vacation while thirty million American households are out of work, and forty million did not have enough food last week. The economy can’t recover and sustain itself until the coronavirus is under control. The Senate must fund a relief bill to put money back into people’s pockets to keep the economy from grinding to a halt.  Trump declared the negotiations over.  Nero fiddled. Trump golfs.