So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first..The fact that there are actually two Social Security trust funds is important when you break down the numbers behind the trust funds' cash deficits. According to the Social Security Trustees' "intermediate" projections, the OASI trust fund would run a cash deficit of billion in 2010, and the DI trust fund a billion cash deficit..That is only one of the issues involved with high drug prices, and the drug companies aren't the only issue..Many in Congress talk about the need to "strengthen Social Security," but few offer proposals that would both improve program financing and at the same time improve retirement income. We encourage you to attend town halls this summer and to tell your Members of Congress that Social Security's solvency doesn't require benefit cuts. What Social Security needs is greater tax fairness and requiring all to pay their fair share..Unless there is a breakthrough regarding a new coronavirus bill, the House is scheduled to return to business on Sept. 1That will leave 2 ½ weeks in September for it to pass the two remaining funding bills but that will probably depend on how negotiations for a new coronavirus bill as well as a CR go once they return..If we closed this loophole, we could ensure that Social Security continues paying full benefits to every single American who pays in, just as they were promised..At least one participant, CVS Health, plans to begin offering vaccinations to "eligible populations" using doses from the federal program on the first day, Feb. 1The pharmacy chain expects to receive about 250,000 doses that will be rolled out at approximately 330 stores across 11 states including California, Texas, Virginia, and New York..A new analysis by Johnson compared the growth of average benefits since 2009 with what retirees would have received assuming Social Security law provided a COLA guarantee of at least 3 percent, as has been proposed by some Members of Congress, including Representative Eliot Engel. Johnson's analysis found that an average benefit of ,075 in 2009 would be 6.50 per month higher in 2018 - about 17 percent higher - had Social Security recipients been protected by a 3 percent COLA guarantee. Over the past nine years, the average retiree would have received about ,947 more in total Social Security income..This year, for the first time since the early 80's, the Social Security Trust Fund that pays retirement and survivors benefits fell into deficit and is paying out more than it receives in payroll taxes and taxes on Social Security benefits. In years in which there was an excess of Social Security taxes, the federal government used the surplus revenues for other purposes and then credited the Trust Fund with special non-marketable government bonds representing IOUs. But with the recession and prolonged economic recovery, the taxes that fund Social Security plunged. At the same time, enrollment is soaring as seniors who have lost their jobs turn to Social Security early. When the Trust Funds don't receive enough tax revenues, then the government must find the cash to redeem the IOUs to pay benefits. The only options Congress has is unsustainable levels of borrowing, tax increases, or cutting benefits.
