REFORM BILL WOULD DRASTICALLY ALTER SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Although it was a largely overlooked issue during the 2016 elections, President-elect Donald Trump was pretty clear during his campaign that he planned to leave Social Security alone.

Trump’s belief is that America has a pledge to honor in paying retired workers, and it would continue to honor that pledge for years and generations to come. Rather than adjusting specific components of Social Security, Trump aims to grow the economy at a faster pace through a mix of individual and corporate tax cuts, renegotiated trade deals and domestic infrastructure spending. The idea is that if the U.S. economy is growing faster, workers will be generating more income, yielding higher payroll tax revenue collection, and buoying the program.

However, not all Republicans see eye-to-eye with President-elect Trump, and as I surmised a few weeks prior, it could mean the possibility of Trump’s having to compromise on his pledge not to alter Social Security. Perhaps the biggest test comes from Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tx.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee. On Dec. 8, Johnson unveiled his “plan to permanently save Social Security.”The 54-page bill, known as the Social Security Reform Act of 2016, covers a number of critical topics, most of which would revolve around reducing the rate at which benefits grow.

http://www.newsweek.com/reform-bill-drastically-alter-social-security-535389