Social Security

Chart of the Day: Record Low Poverty Rate

By Michael Rainey

The extensive array of government assistance programs — including Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, nutritional aid, rental assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit —...
Democrat's New Taxes Wouldn't Hit Just Billionaires

By Michael Rainey

Some Democratic tax proposals are focused on making millionaires and billionaires pay more, but other households would be affected as well. Neil Irwin of The New York Times points out Tuesday that...
How Mitt Romney Wants to Save Social Security and Other Trust Funds

By Michael Rainey

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney introduced legislation Tuesday that would create new congressional committees focused on the fiscal health of federal trust...
Number of the Day: $23 a Month

By Michael Rainey

The Social Security Administration on Thursday said the cost-of-living adjustment for 2020 would be 1.6%. That translates to a bump of about $23 on the average monthly benefit of $1,460. The 2020...
The Case for Giving Social Security to Children

By Michael Rainey

US social welfare programs reduced poverty by about two-thirds overall in 2018, according to an analysis of Census data by Matt Bruenig of the left-leaning People’s Policy Project. Bruenig offers a...

Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan to Expand Social Security

By Michael Rainey and Yuval Rosenberg

Elizabeth Warren released a plan Thursday to expand Social Security and raise benefit payments. Warren’s plan would: Immediately increase benefit payments by $200 a month. If enacted, Warren’s plan...
More Progress in Tackling Poverty, but Meager Gains for the Middle Class

By Yuval Rosenberg

The poverty rate fell for the fourth straight year in 2018, dropping to 11.8%, the lowest level since 2001, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. In all, some 38 million people were living in poverty...
Op-Ed of the Day: Fighting the Next Recession Now

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Jason Furman, the former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, has some advice for Congress: Start preparing for the next recession now. In a Wall Street...
Americans Are Missing Out on Trillions in Social Security

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Americans will lose out on $3.4 trillion in benefits by claiming Social Security too early, according to a new report from United Income, an investment management and financial planning company...
Growth of US Debt Slows, but Record Levels Still Ahead

By Michael Rainey

The national debt will reach “unprecedented levels” over the next 30 years, according to the new long-term budget outlook released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office. Federal outlays will...

How Old Is Old?

By Michael Rainey

The average age of the U.S. population is rising as the baby boomers sail into their golden years, but a statistically older population may not be as problematic as some experts think. According to a...
Chart of the Day: High Tax, High Service

By Michael Rainey

Can the U.S. afford to dramatically increase public spending on a whole host of new programs, potentially including Medicare for All, expanded Social Security and a massive Green New Deal? That...
House Democrats Introduce Bill to Expand Social Security

By Michael Rainey

Backed by more than 200 House Democrats, Reps. John Larson (D-CT), Conor Lamb (D-PA) and Jahana Hayes (D-CT) introduced a bill Wednesday that would increase Social Security benefits. The bill would...
‘Greatest Threat’ to the US? Two Top Democratic Economists Aren’t So Worried About the Debt

By Michael Rainey

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz told “60 Minutes” Sunday that he is considering a run for president in 2020, possibly as a “centrist independent,” and one of his top issues is the growing national...
CBO Offers 121 Ways to Shrink the Deficit

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Congressional Budget Office has released a 326-page guide that describes dozens of ways the federal government could reduce its large and growing budget deficit. The 121 policy options included...