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To the Editor:
Happy Birthday, Social Security. But I hope it won’t be your last.
You were born on August 14, 1935, when President Roosevelt signed The Social Security Act into law. For 85 years, as a bedrock retirement program you have also been the most effective anti-poverty program in the US, lifting 22 million people out of poverty, including one million children.
Social Security provides nearly two thirds of retirees with over half of their overall income in retirement.
But now you will be “temporarily” suspended. Why?
The president is cutting payroll taxes temporarily thereby defunding Social Security and leaving working Americans with a huge tax bill come April.
President Trump has promised to cut payroll taxes permanently if re-elected. “If I’m victorious on November 3rd,” he has said, “I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax, in other words, I’ll extend beyond the end of the year and terminate the tax.”
Cutting payroll taxes, permanently, would lead to permanent cuts to Social Security beyond a 25% cut scheduled after 2034. That is a death by a thousand cuts. After a successful life of 85 years that has supported so many of us, we cannot let you, Social Security, die that way.
So let us celebrate your birthday and hope that after November 3, we will have assured that you continue to live a long and healthy life.
Win Heimer
West Hartford
