You knew they couldn't just let Social Security sit there untouched, didn't you? Rep. Paul Ryan left it out of his budget entirely, focusing all his privatization efforts on Medicare, but that doesn't mean Social Security isn't
still in the GOP's sights.
House Republicans on Friday introduced legislation that would allow workers to partially opt out of Social Security immediately, and fully opt out after 15 years.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-NY), who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, and several other Republicans introduced the Savings Account for Every American (SAFE) Act. Under the bill, workers would immediately have 6.2 percent of their wages sent to a "SAFE" account each year.
That would take the place of the 6.2 percent the workers now contributed to Social Security.
Another 6.2% is sent to Social Security by employers. Under the Sessions bill, employers would continue to make this matching contribution to Social Security, but after 15 years, employers could also send that amount to the employee's SAFE account.
See, it's "SAFE"! It's not at all risky to put your money into the market. Sessions says so by calling this scheme, literally, "SAFE." He says it's necessary to do because, "[o]ur nation's Social Security Trust Fund is depleting at an alarming rate, and failure to implement immediate reforms endangers the ability of Americans to plan for their retirement with the options and certainty they deserve."
Because there's no certainty like the stock market. What Sessions won't say, of course, is that this scheme would deplete the trust fund entirely, and relatively quickly since all employee contributions would be taken out of the mix. That could jeopardize the security of current and near-future retirees, as funds going into the program now would be halved. But never mind that, it's SAFE!
What this does demonstrate is that the Medicare privatization scheme in their budget isn't a fluke, or some mistake. The Republicans are doubling down on their scheme to make life a lot less secure for older Americans.