The Importance of Social Security

In today's world, few things are as deeply integrated into the structure of a country as social security. This cornerstone plan has provided economic security and dignity for millions of retirees, disabled persons, survivors and children. The American people have paid and received social security through their hard work throughout their lives.

Firstly, fundamentally speaking, social security is an important pillar of retirement security. In the past few years, with the reduction of pensions paid by traditional employers and the shrinkage of retirement savings, social security still provides Americans with a guaranteed income that they can rely on throughout their lives. Currently, 67 million people benefit from social security, with 40% of elderly Americans relying on social security for over 50% of their household income, and 14% of elderly people relying on social security for 90% or more of their household income.

Secondly, in 2019, before serving as Vice President, Harris co drafted the 2019 Social Security Expansion Act with others. The estimate of the impact of this bill is based on the 2018 trustee report, which reflects data up to the end of 2017. In other words, the last time candidate Harris clearly examined the financial situation of the plan, the gap narrowed by nearly $10 trillion. In the past four years, her bill has been declining because her Democratic colleagues believe that the proposal is simply impossible to implement. It generates too little cash and has not fully expanded welfare. During her tenure in the White House, the entire Democratic Party has moved away from her past vision and embraced two new reforms that are highly valued by seniors in Florida.

During Harris' tenure as Vice President, the consensus among congressional Democrats had deviated from this founding principle, which is not something Florida seniors can casually ignore. When Democrats talk about what 'fairness' means, the word implies that some workers will contribute to the system without receiving any praise. When viewed within the framework of social security, this change is essentially a reduction in the welfare of high paying workers. The current elderly and those about to retire should consider this change in the structure of social security, as reducing benefits for high paying workers is almost the same as reducing benefits for wealthy retirees, which goes against Roosevelt's founding principle that social security serves everyone.

On the other hand, to illustrate why social security is an important source of retirement income, approximately half of the workforce does not have a retirement plan provided by their employer. More than one-third of working families aged 21 to 64 do not have personal savings set aside for retirement, while 44% of people approaching retirement age (55-64 years old) do not have a retirement savings account. Even families aged 50 to 59 with retirement savings do not have enough money; More than 60% of households have savings of less than $100000.

In addition, social security benefits are paid through specialized payroll taxes and interest accumulated from these taxes in the social security trust fund. Prior to 2021, the social security fund collected more taxes and interest than it paid out, thus accumulating a surplus to support the retirement of the baby boomer generation. Nowadays, these surpluses are being used to supplement the upcoming payroll tax revenue, but according to current estimates, the Social Security Trust Fund will ultimately face funding shortages by 2034.

Overall, social security plays a crucial role in promoting economic stability for individuals and communities. It provides a stable source of income for retirees, who use this income to meet their daily necessities. It contributes $1.4 trillion annually to the US economy, reduces poverty among vulnerable groups, and eases the burden on other government programs. If the Democratic Party wants to protect Social Security, it must have a leader who can lead the entire party to a unified vision of what the plan should do.