A trust fund that serves as a backstop for the nation's largest social safety net program is on track to run out of money in 12 years...
currently being negotiated among Democrats in Congress includes a plan to expand Medicare so it includes vision, dental and hearing coverage. The extra costs would be covered by savings that come from allowing the government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
It’s unclear at the moment whether these adjustments to Medicare, or any plan to shore up Social Security, will make it into the final proposal.“Raising the retirement age reduces the number of beneficiaries, thereby reducing the costs of the program. Raising the future retirement age, while not a popular proposition, encounters less political risks than reducing retirement benefits and increasing taxes.” — Joseph Chamie,“Given the federal government’s track record of awful fiscal management, it also makes sense to empower individuals to control more of their retirement savings. Privatizing Social Security — or at least letting individuals opt-out of the program so they can escape the sinking ship — would be a huge win for younger workers who have time to save on their own.” — Eric Boehm,“Social Security as we know it needs to be abolished and replaced with a better system. There are many methods for doing so. For example, if liberals were willing to accept privatizing half of the contributions and conservatives were willing to accept using the other half as a safety net for only those retirees with the least resources, then the system could be saved and privatized.” — David John Marotta,“If the so-called Democratic moderates are sincere in their concerns about the nation’s unsustainable debt, the new reports from the Social Security and Medicare trustees should convince them to change course, ditch their party’s reckless liberal agenda, and act responsibly to address another crisis that is staring us in the face.” — Philip Klein,“Can Social Security be adjusted to continue paying full benefits to future generations? Yes, and the fixes are actually rather straightforward and manageable.” — Lawrence Eppard,“Over the next decade, Washington is projected to provide $1.6 trillion in Social Security benefits for upper-income seniors. Congress could save hundreds of billions of dollars by modestly paring back the initial benefit formula for future wealthy retirees. … These savings would grow rapidly in future decades as more wealthy seniors retire.” — Brian Riedl,“The Federal Reserve estimates that there is $130 trillion in household wealth in this country. So it wouldn’t take much of an annual wealth tax to rescue the retirement system. A 1% flat rate on absolutely everybody would do it.” — Brett Arends,“By the time that trust fund depletion date rolls around, the game is long over. At that point, the size of the shortfall is so large and so vast, that there really isn’t a realistic prospect of closing the shortfall.” — Charles Blahous, former Social Security public trustee, to“Without the political will to tell voters that the entitlement programs are on a failing trajectory, the details of how any president and Congress would tweak them are immaterial. … The towering issue now is whether Biden will, like presidents before him, let the nation drift closer to an insolvency crisis or, instead, will be the leader who saves these programs.” — Editorial, Is there a topic you’d like to see covered in “The 360”? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.
Trending
A gorgeous April afternoon in store across the Denver metro area 
‘Artemis Mission Cannot Lead To Interplanetary Wild West,’ Astronomer Warns 
Trump says US forces will ‘finish the job’ soon in first prime-time speech since starting Iran war 
Former Wisconsin football player, who left the sport amid mental health struggles, dead at 24 
Drew McIntyre Gives Honest Take About His Recent WWE Title Reign 
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders introduces bill that could keep the Padres in San Diego United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
UK OKs vaccines for 12 year olds, aims to avoid lockdownsLONDON (AP) — Britain’s chief medical officers said Monday that children aged 12 to 15 should be vaccinated against coronavirus, despite a ruling by the government’s vaccine advisors that the step would have only marginal health benefits.
Read more »
Covid: Single jab recommended for 12-15 year olds by UK's top doctorsMove will help reduce school disruption, top doctors say, with decision now in hands of ministers.
Read more »
12 Vintage-Inspired Ensembles that Are Anything But StuffyRetro never looked so modern. In our latest issue—on newsstands now—we pulled together 12 vintage-inspired ensembles that are anything but stuffy. Shot by Criag McDean and styled by Grace Coddington:
Read more »
FDA Warns: Don’t Get Under-12 Children Vaccinated YetThe Food and Drug Administration is telling parents that they should not ask their health care providers to give a COVID-19 vaccine to children under 12 until the government approves a vaccine for that age group.
Read more »
Vaccines For Those Under 12 Could Come Before End Of Year, Says CDC HeadDr. Rochelle Walensky's timeline update comes shortly after new pediatric coronavirus cases hit a record high.
Read more »
Vaccines For Those Under 12 Could Come Before End Of Year, Says CDC HeadDr. Rochelle Walensky's timeline update comes shortly after new pediatric coronavirus cases hit a record high.
Read more »