Social Security is a Gen Z issue.
The threat of raising the retirement age directly impacts Gen Z and Millennials. In the 2024 election, Gen Z should be paying attention to Social Security.
Top Line Messaging:
Social Security’s finances are strong, and the program will be around for a long time.
Donald Trump and Republicans will cut social security benefits by raising the retirement age if they control the House, Senate, and Presidency.
Republicans' refusal to raise the cap on taxable income is another example of them benefiting wealthy Americans at the expense of the working class.
Changes to Social Security will have a much bigger impact on Gen Z and Millenials, forcing them to work longer.
Social Security and Gen Z
Say it with me now: “Social Security’s finances are strong!”
Seriously, say it out loud: “Social Security’s finances are strong”.
One more time, but let’s add something. “Social Security’s finances are strong and will remain that way as long as Donald Trump doesn’t mess with it.”
Right-wing propaganda has convinced even the most liberal of us that Social Security is in deep trouble. It is not.
There is no issue in American politics where the commonly accepted rhetoric is so far detached from reality.
The spin: Social Security is bankrupt and needs to be fixed.
The reality: One more time, “Social Security’s finances are strong.”
When Republicans claim that Social Security needs to be fixed, they are referring to the fact that some economists have predicted that by 2035, Social Security’s trust fund will be depleted. This is not the same as bankrupt. The trust fund covers years when Social Security pays out more money than it takes in from taxes to prevent any deficit spending. Historically, economists are terrible at projections, so the 2035 projection is a total guess, but even if it does happen, Social Security won’t be out of money. It will just have deficit spending, which would automatically trigger a cut in benefits paid to about 80% of the current benefit. So, even in the worst-case scenario, Social Security would still be paid.
To avoid benefit cuts there are two main proposals for addressing the projected shortfall of the trust. Donald Trump and Republicans favor raising the retirement age, which hurts working and middle-class Americans. Democrats favor raising the cap on taxable income, which would impact the wealthiest of Americans.1
The Spin 2: Our nation has enormous debt and deficit spending, cuts must be made to “entitlements” to prevent our economy from collapsing.
The reality: Social Security HAS NOTHING TO DO with our debt or deficit. It is completely separate from the federal government’s budget and is a fully self-sustaining program paid for by payroll taxes. Our country’s debt issues will NOT be solved by cutting Social Security payments.
How to talk about this:
Emphasize that Social Security is strong, and by raising the taxable income cap, we could ensure its strength for future generations.
When discussing the contrast between Trump and Biden, emphasize that this is another example of Donald Trump protecting his billionaire friends at the expense of working—and middle-class Americans.
Donald Trump and Republicans will cut Social Security.
The spin: When Joe Biden and Democrats warn us that Republicans will attack Social Security, the most common response is, “No, they won’t; the program is too popular; Democrats are just trying to scare seniors.”
The reality: Democratic warnings of Republican attacks on Social Security are not fear-mongering. They are accurate historical analyses.
Here are the facts: 3 of the past 4 Republican presidents have attacked Social Security.
Donald Trump suspended the payroll tax, which is the main funder for Social Security.
George W. Bush attempted to privatize social security, which would have effectively ended the program.
Ronald Reagan raised the retirement age in 1983.
Only George H.W. Bush defended Social Security as president, signing the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, which fully protected Social Security and took the program offline from the rest of the Federal budget. But this ain’t George H.W. Bush’s Republican party anymore.
This is an issue where Donald Trump and the Mitt Romney Republicans are in lockstep. They really want you to think that Social Security needs “fixing.” Nikki Haley openly talked about needing to raise the retirement age during the primary. And Donald Trump has discussed making cuts to “entitlements” numerous times.
How to talk about this:
This isn’t hyperbolic or speculation. History shows us that Republicans attack Social Security when they are in power. The choice is clear: Joe Biden will protect Social Security. Donald Trump will raise the retirement age and cut benefits in order to save his billionaire friends from paying their fair share of taxes.
Why Social Security IS a Gen Z issue.
Conventional thinking sees attacks on Social Security as only impacting retirees or people close to retirement. But that thinking is completely wrong. Changes to the program will impact Gen Z and Millenials much more than older generations.
Social Security is the Taylor Swift of government programs. Everyone loves it, and those who don’t love it will NEVER speak openly against it for fear of mass retribution. This means that the most likely attack on Social Security will impact future generations, not current generations. Therefore, proposing things like raising the retirement age is more politically palatable.
This isn’t speculation. We have a historical case for this. In 1983 Ronald Reagan raised the full retirement age from 65 to 672. The increase in the retirement age didn’t start until 2000 and slowly increased until 2022. This means people retiring between 1983 and 2000 weren’t impacted at all. The burden of that change fell on people who are retiring now and were in their mid-20s in 1983.
If Donald Trump wins the presidency, history will repeat itself. Young people today, who are already facing a huge economic burden, will be forced to work longer and will receive fewer benefits from Social Security.
“But people are living longer, so we need to raise the retirement age” - Some College Republican holding an Ayn Rand biography.
People are not living longer. There have been numerous studies that show America’s life expectancy is dropping and that working longer can kill you faster.
Raising the retirement age or cutting benefits is an unnecessary hardship on young people. Especially when a solution like raising the cap on taxable income for Social Security exists.
Bottom Line:
Raising the retirement age is stealing benefits from Gen Z and Millenials. It will force them to work longer and die sooner, and it is 100% unnecessary.
Content to Share:
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Americans only pay Social Security taxes on the first $168,000 they make; now, obviously, the majority of Americans never even come close to that amount of money in a year, so they pay Social Security taxes on all of their income. But the wealthiest Americans don’t. If we raise the cap on taxable income to, say, $400,000, some economists believe that will be enough to keep Social Security solvent for a long time.
People can still collect Social Security benefits at 62, but they don’t get the full benefits until 67 now. If you were born after 2000, Regan’s retirement age change means you face a 50% penalty for collecting retirement early in comparison to people retiring before 2000.
Thanks for this!
Please tax my 169,000th dollar all the way to my 400,000th to buttress social security. Just knowing it’ll be taxes will make me more likely to arrive there.