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Fiscal Commissions Are not the Answer for Strengthening Social Security

Soon-to-be retired Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) new PROMISE Act is the latest in a wave of proposals to establish a ‘fiscal commission’ to address Social Security’s looming financial shortfall, instead of allowing Congress to do its job and devise its own proposals. Durbin’s bill would authorize the four-person Social Security Advisory Board to draft a 50‑year solvency bill that would be fast‑tracked through Congress by the end of the current legislative session.  While it differs from earlier commission proposals, Durbin’s legislation still relies on an outside body to formulate changes to a program that 70 million Americans rely on for basic financial security. On the latest episode of our Capital Quick Takes video series, communications director Walter Gottlieb interviews our President and CEO Max Richtman about Durbin’s bill and other efforts to create fiscal commissions for Social Security.
2026-07-24T11:01:59-04:00July 23rd, 2026|Categories: fiscal commission, seniors, Social Security|

Trump Goes “Down Under” for Latest Privatization Ploy

After turning the page on his self-indulgent USA250 bonanza, marred by extreme heat and disappointing attendance, President Trump has once again set his sights on Americans’ earned retirement benefits. On Monday, he announced that his administration is “working on a plan” to create accounts for adults loosely inspired by Australia’s retirement savings system – and similar to the Trump accounts for children.  Our president and CEO Max Richtman told MarketWatch today that Trump should be working on strengthening Social Security instead of “toying around” with federally-seeded private accounts. “We would advise President Trump to focus on Social Security - a program that has worked splendidly for more than 90 years to provide Americans with basic retirement security” - Max Richtman, President and CEO, NCPSSM 
2026-07-08T10:08:20-04:00July 7th, 2026|Categories: GOP, President Trump, privatization, Social Security|

Social Security Is Heating up This Summer

Social Security is back in the headlines this summer, driven by both hopeful developments and urgent warnings.  In the wake of the Trustees report in June, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH), announced a bipartisan proposal to adjust the Social Security payroll wage cap and stabilize the program’s revenue ahead of looming insolvency in the early 2030s. Moreno’s participation in a plan to increase Social Security revenue is particularly notable –  and is the first of its kind from a Republican on Capitol Hill in recent memory. This is an encouraging signal that protecting Social Security benefits can bring people together across party lines. (Bipartisan majorities of Americans favor increasing revenue flowing into the system instead of reducing benefits, even if it means paying more in Social Security payroll taxes.)  It also underscores something advocates have been saying for years: the best way to preserve Social Security is not by cutting it, but by demanding that the wealthiest Americans contribute their fair share.
2026-07-01T15:54:12-04:00July 1st, 2026|Categories: Boost Social Security, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Social Security, Social Security on the Ballot, Social Security Trust Fund|

Making Sense of the New Social Security Trustees Report 

On Tuesday morning, The Social Security Administration (SSA) released its highly anticipated Trustees Report for 2026. The trustees project that the depletion date of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust fund surplus will hold firm at 2034, at which time the program still could play 83% of promised benefits. (Advocates and analysts expected the date to creep up one year to 2033.) Interestingly enough, the trustees report blames Trump administration policies for the acceleration of trust fund insolvency – pointing to the Big, Ugly Bill which decreased tax revenues flowing into Social Security... in addition to Trump’s anti-immigration campaign. (Less immigration means fewer workers paying into the system.)
2026-06-11T11:12:50-04:00June 10th, 2026|Categories: Democrats, Rep. John Larson, Social Security, Trump, Trump Administration|

Fact-Checking the Frankster 2.0

The Trump administration is celebrating Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano’s first year on the job with a triumphant press release, hailing the agency as a “premier service organization.”  In truth, there isn’t much to celebrate, despite Bisignano’s boasting.
2026-05-13T12:25:45-04:00May 12th, 2026|Categories: Commisioner Bisignano, Politics, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security Facts, SSA field offices, Uncategorized|

Fortune Columnist Would Rather Cut Social Security Than Make Payroll Wage Cap More Fair

The right-wing barrage of anti-Social Security propaganda continues. In fact, we’re finding ourselves having to shoot down at least one misleading (or misguided) opinion piece every month. Today’s response was provoked by a recent column in Fortune: “Social Security has 6 years left. The fix that sounds cruelest may be the smartest.” Let’s start with the headline. Social Security does not have six years left. The program will go on indefinitely as long as people are working and paying into the system. It’s accurate to say that Social Security’s trust fund reserves will become depleted in some six years — in the unlikely event that Congress takes no pre-emptive action. 
2026-03-31T13:14:39-04:00March 31st, 2026|Categories: Equal Time, Social Security, Uncategorized|

‘Re-Arranging Deck Chairs at Social Security’: Bisignano’s Fake Fix for Staffing Crisis

There’s been an uncanny amount of re-shuffling of workers and resources at the Social Security Administration lately – in a feeble attempt to paper over Trump’s reckless cuts in staffing. The latest example of this game of whack-a-mole unfolded last week.  Commissioner Frank Bisignano announced a shiny, new plan to "centralize" medical reviews for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits — which could impact nearly 9 million Americans. (Disabled workers can lose their benefits if they do not pass these periodic reviews.)
2026-03-17T11:20:55-04:00March 17th, 2026|Categories: Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA), Social Security Disability Insurance|

Trump Admin. to Blame for Social Security Data Abuse (Not Just Rogue DOGE Bro’s)

New reporting in the Washington Post indicates that a former DOGE software engineer allegedly copied Americans’ personal information from two Social Security databases onto a thumb drive, with the intention of uploading the data onto the servers of a company where he had recently obtained employment.  These two databases include the records of approximately 500 million living and dead beneficiaries, risking exposure of Social Security numbers, birthplaces, dates, citizenship, race, ethnicity, and parents' names. 
2026-03-12T15:00:36-04:00March 12th, 2026|Categories: DOGE, President Trump, Social Security, Social Security Administration (SSA)|

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