Sanders ‘irresponsible and delusional’ on Social Security, says expert

“Republicans on stage claim Social Security is going broke. They are dead wrong … Social Security has a $2.8 trillion surplus. It can pay every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 19 years … So, yes, we are going to expand, not cut, Social Security benefits,” Sanders said over the course of three tweets.

The problem? Sanders is “irresponsible and delusional” when it comes to Social Security’s finances, according to Social Security expert Andrew Biggs. Biggs is a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, prior to which he was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

Sanders’ tweets contradict himself, Biggs says. Sanders first claims Social Security isn’t going broke. He follows that up by saying it can pay every promised benefit for only 19 more years.

At that point, Social Security would be broke and recipients would see an automatic 20 percent cut in their benefits. The system’s reserves would be gone, and it could pay out only what it immediately receives. Expanding Social Security benefits, as Sanders wants to do, without finding a way to pay for them would only make the system go broke faster.

Sanders wants to raise payroll taxes on income over $250,000 a year, but this would still solve less than half of Social Security’s long-term funding problem.

While Sanders is right that Social Security currently has a $2.8 trillion surplus, it’s burning money fast. The program has run a deficit since 2010. Thanks to a rising number of beneficiaries and fewer people paying in, it’s not projected ever to have a surplus again, unless it’s reformed. Social Security’s deficit was about $84 billion in 2015, and it will only get worse unless costs are cut or more money is found.

Possible cost-savings include means-testing benefits for wealthy retirees or gradually raising the retirement age. More money could be found in a payroll tax hike, as Sanders has proposed, but that wouldn’t solve the problem forever unless the payroll tax rate were raised.

Regardless, the status quo won’t work forever. Before it can be fixed, liberals like Sanders need to acknowledge that Social Security has a problem. Solutions will be less harmful if they come sooner rather than later.

When it comes to reality-denying statements like Sanders’s tweets, “It’s bizarre,” Biggs tweeted, “that @BernieSanders supporters thinks statements like this are killer comebacks.”

Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

Social Security Beneficiaries: FindTheData