Tell the Truth About Social Security: Featured Op-Eds

In support of the goal of raising awareness among the public on how Social Security works and the realities of the financial pressure the program is facing, the Committee has worked to place opinion pieces on these issues in national and regional outlets across the nation. A selection of op-eds placed by our Tell the Truth About Social Security project can be found below.

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director Marc Goldwein published an op-ed in the Washington Post making the case for assigning a bipartisan commission or advisory board the task of developing Social Security solvency legislation for Congress to consider.

"These types of special processes are exactly what it will take to get the ball rolling on urgently needed reforms. They will create an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together on a plan to save Social Security before it is too late. 

Special interests on the left and right, unfortunately, have attacked these kinds of solutions for fear they will upset the status quo. Groups such as Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and AARP agree on very little, except for their unwillingness to accept a realistic compromise that could actually save Social Security. AARP opposes any changes to slow the growth in benefits, even for the richest seniors, while ATR is against any increase in taxes, even to permanently restore Social Security stability."

Read the full piece on the Washington Post website

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director Marc Goldwein published an op-ed in the Washington Examiner on the tough decisions policymakers need to make to ensure the solvency of the Social Security program.

"It’s hard to understand how anyone hoping to be in office in 2032 doesn’t have a plan to avoid this cut. Unlike many other crises, no one can claim this one took them by surprise. Social Security’s actuaries and trustees have been projecting this coming insolvency since the 1980s. Numerous commissions, councils, and task forces have put forward bipartisan plans to save it. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, also pushed for reform, recognizing the value of acting early to phase in changes gradually and give workers time to plan and adjust."

Read the full piece on the Washington Examiner website

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas has published an opinion piece in the Kansas City Star on the new Social Security Trustee's report highlighting the program's impending insolvency and the consequences for Missourians. 

"Every year, the trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare release reports to Congress about the state of these programs. This year's report reiterated what we've long known: Absent congressional action, Social Security's retirement trust fund is projected to be insolvent in 2032, just six years from now, at which point 528,000 Kansans and more than 1.1 Missourians would face automatic across-the-board benefit cuts of 22%."

Read the full piece on the Kansas City Star website

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas has published an opinion piece in the Albany Times Union highlighting the Committee's new No State Spared report and the potential $511 benefit cut New Yorkers could face if Social Security  retirement trust fund becomes insolvent. 

"No state will be spared from the consequences of insolvency, but New York may be hit harder than most. It has the fourth-largest number of beneficiaries, and among its retirees, the average monthly benefit cut of $511 is above the national average. The Empire State’s 3.4 million Social Security retirees and survivors make up 16.9% of the state’s population. If insolvency occurred, the hit would be as large as 0.8% of the state’s economy, which would affect all New Yorkers."

Read the full piece on the Albany Times Union website

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson published an opinion piece in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette establishing the facts and the stakes on the issue of Social Security insolvency and pointing to the formation of a bipartisan fiscal commission in Congress as being a potentially viable path toward compromise.

"There's a lot to figure out and not a lot of time left to do the figuring. That's why I've advocated for those in Washington with the ability to do something about this to establish a bipartisan commission – just as they did in the 1980s when we last faced this problem – to reach across the political aisle and put forward solutions. The Commission on the Future of Social Security needs to get to work now to build consensus and to send a blueprint to Congress for action.

This type of bipartisan commission with congressional and administrative support has worked before to solve problems and it is, most likely, the only way to solve this problem today."

Read the full piece on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's website

Former Colorado Senator Mark Udall and former Representative Bob Beauprez published an opinion piece in The Denver Post on the impending insolvency data and the possible effects on Coloradans.

"2032 may seem a long way off, but having served Coloradans in the Senate and the House, we know firsthand just how fast the years fly by – and, how slowly the wheels of change turn in Congress.

This November, Coloradans will cast their ballots for who they want to represent them for the next six years in the Senate. That means this issue has finally reached the ballot box – insolvency will hit in the final year of the term for those elected to the Senate.

As citizens, each of us has a responsibility to press our elected officials for solutions. We can start by asking one simple question: What’s your plan to save Social Security?"

Read the full piece on The Denver Post's website

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas published an opinion piece in The Carolina Journal focused on Social Security, including the financial constraints facing its retirement trust fund and the need for lawmakers to address the program's looming insolvency before automatic benefit cuts occur.

"...Saving Social Security will not be easy. Few issues have been subject to more myths, falsehoods, and outright lies than Social Security. Even fewer issues bring out the army of special interest groups committed to keeping the status quo through demagoguery, political attacks, and fear mongering.  

And yet, we’ve been here before. In 1983, both parties came together to forge a plan that not only saved the program but also extended its solvency by five decades. We can do that again."

Read the full piece on The Carolina Journal's website

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas has published a series of opinion pieces in The Dallas Morning News focused on Social Security, including the financial constraints facing its retirement trust fund and the need for lawmakers to address the program's looming insolvency before automatic benefit cuts occur. 

The series includes four installments: 

• The Time to Start Voting About Social Security is Now: Explains how the Social Security trust fund works, why it is going insolvent, and what happens if lawmakers do not take action.
• Myths and Fearmongering are Driving Social Security to Insolvency: Explains how pervasive myths, fearmongering, and demagoguery have obstructed Social Security reform efforts for decades.
• Here's How to Fix Social Security: Presents thoughtful reform options for addressing Social Security's revenues and benefits to ensure solvency for future generations.
• America Needs a Social Security Commission: Highlights a practical path forward for the program with a proposal for a commission - an approach Congress has successfully done in the past.