What happens when Democrats unite to protect the most successful, most important, and most popular social program in the nations history? They change the conversation.
Earlier this summer, lawmakers introduced a bill to “save” Social Security that reads like a desperate attempt to appeal to the growing movement to expand the program. The proposal, introduced by Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI), is called the “S.O.S. Act”—short for the “Save Our Social Security Act of 2016” (get it?).
He's a Republican, so of course you get the typical stuff—raise the retirement age and implement the chained CPI, the formula for indexing benefit increases to inflation that could cut earned benefits by as much as $1,000 a year. That's par for the course and can be swatted away by Democrats. Here's the significant thing this Republican legislation would do.
Section 2 of the bill—titled “Increase Contribution and Benefit Base”—calls for raising the cap on the payroll tax that funds Social Security benefits from $118,500 to $308,750. In other words, the wealthiest Americans would be asked to contribute a little bit more to fund the program. The bill also increases benefits for the oldest beneficiaries, and creates a minimum benefit for beneficiaries who are at or near the poverty level.
Yes, that's a Republican calling for increasing the payroll tax on the wealthy. Read that again—Republican tax increase on the wealthy. That's called moving the debate.