New GOP Congress Launches First Missile At Social Security A quiet rule change sets the stage for Republicans to claim the Social Security program is nearly bankrupt. The largely overlooked change puts a new restriction on the routine transfer of tax revenues between the traditional Social Security retirement trust fund and the Social Security Disability program. The transfers, known as reallocation, had historically been routine; the liberal Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said Tuesday that they had been made 11 times. The CBPP added that the disability insurance program isnt broken, but the program has been strained by demographic trends that the reallocations are intended to address. The House GOPs rule change would still allow for a reallocation from the Retirement Fund to shore up the disability fund -- but only if an accompanying proposal improves the overall financial health of the combined Social Security Trust Funds, per the rule, expected to be passed on Tuesday. While that language is vague, experts say it would likely mean any reallocation would have to be balanced by new revenues or benefit cuts. House Democrats are sounding the alarm. In a memo circulated to their allies Tuesday, Democratic staffers said that that would mean either new revenues or benefit cuts for current or future beneficiaries. New revenues are highly unlikely to be approved by the deeply tax-averse Republican-led Congress, leaving benefit cuts as the obvious alternative. crooksandliars/2015/01/new-gop-congress-launches-first-missile
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 07:24:30 +0000
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