Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton declined to endorse a “grand bargain” to stabilize Social Security’s finances in Wednesday night’s debate, representing a break with the deficit politics of the Obama years.
Asked by moderator Chris Wallace if they would accept a “grand bargain” involving both benefit cuts and tax increases, each candidate responded in the negative.
Trump responded that he sought to cut taxes to stimulate growth. He added that he would repeal Obamacare.
Clinton answered with a full-throated defense of scheduled Social Security benefits.
“We need to put more money in the Social Security trust fund,” she said. “That’s part of my commitment to raise taxes on the wealthy.”
As a result, she said, her payroll taxes would increase, as would Trump’s, “assuming he can’t figure out how to get out of it.”
Clinton reiterated her campaign promise to expand Social Security benefits and warned that Trump’s pledged tax cuts would imperil the security of retirement programs.
Social Security’s trustees estimate that the combined trust funds for Social Security programs will be exhausted by 2034, at which point only incoming revenues would be available to pay for benefits. Beneficiaries would face an immediate 21 percent cut.
Trump has campaigned promising not to reduce Social Security benefits, having warned voters that other Republicans want to “cut to shreds” their benefits.
Trump’s stance is unusual for a Republican. In the past, he has expressed support for reforming Social Security to reduce spending, and his running mate Mike Pence also was a top congressional supporter of overhauling the retirement program. But both have stressed during the general election that they will maintain benefits for seniors.
Instead, Trump has argued, Social Security’s finances can be stabilized by bringing multinational corporations back to the U.S. and cutting out waste, fraud and abuse.
For her part, Clinton has said that she will protect Social Security from Republican “attacks.” She has staked out her opposition to the kind of benefit formula changes that President Obama entertained in negotiations with congressional Republicans as well as to raising the retirement age.
The Democrat’s support for boosting Social Security benefits is a stance that was pushed by her primary rival Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and outside liberal groups. In particular, Clinton has suggested increasing benefits for widows and caregivers, and paying for the extra funding by raising payroll taxes on high earners. This year, earnings are subject to the tax only up to $118,500.
