Both candidates pledge to preserve Social Security and Medicare, but there are differences
Now that the Democratic and Republican conventions are over – with platform language approved and speeches delivered – it’s a good time to look at where the two major candidates stand on the critical issue of retirement security. As we evaluate their positions, it’s wise to keep in mind that party platforms are more of a compass point than a list of deliverables, and that candidates often make promises in the heat of the race that will be difficult to fulfill without the cooperation of Congress.
It is significant that, amid one of the most polarized political elections in recent history, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump say they want to preserve Social Security and Medicare. How they intend to preserve them is key.
Mrs. Clinton has put forth a plan to strengthen retirement security by enhancing and expanding both Social Security and Medicare. Some of it is short on funding specifics, and how much of it can actually come to pass with a fractured Congress remains to be seen – but the fact that she is offering specific proposals is a major difference between the two candidates.
On Social Security, Clinton is opposed to privatization, reducing annual cost-of-living adjustments, and raising the retirement age. She wants to expand benefits for caregivers who leave the workforce to look after children or sick family members, as well as widows who face steep benefit cuts when their spouses die. To pay for these enhancements, she would increase taxes on those earning more than $250,000 annually, which would add $11 trillion to the program and keep it solvent for another 75 years.
On Medicare, Clinton opposes privatization. She wants to create a public option so people over 55 can buy into the program. Her other proposals include delivery system reforms and bundled payments that allow individuals to make one payment for care rather than pay multiple providers.
She and Trump agree on this point: Medicare should be permitted to negotiate with drug companies to lower prices, which is currently forbidden by law.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump has pledged throughout his campaign to preserve Social Security and Medicare, but his website contains no detailed positions on these programs. The GOP’s official stance is to dismantle the present Social Security and Medicare system and privatize it.
On Social Security, Trump has said repeatedly that he won’t cut benefits and will fund it by creating new jobs that will generate more payroll taxes. However, a Trump adviser has suggested that a Trump administration would be open to potential cuts, while Trump himself, in a position statement for AARP, wrote: “a prudent administration would begin to examine what changes might be necessary for future generations.” In 2000, Trump wrote a book in which he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, proposed raising the retirement age to 70, and supported privatization. Many in his party favor benefit cuts through raising the retirement age or lowering cost-of-living adjustments.
On Medicare, Trump also has said he won’t cut benefits. His website doesn’t offer specific proposals, but it does mention support for negotiating with drug companies to lower pharmaceutical prices, repealing the Affordable Care Act, allowing the sale of health insurance nationally, and the deduction of health insurance premiums on individual federal income tax returns. The Republican Party position essentially calls for giving a lump sum to Medicare beneficiaries to buy private health policies, which would expose them to the risks of the private insurance market.
Americans say they don’t mind paying for Social Security because they value it for themselves and their families (73%) and for the security it provides to millions of retired and disabled Americans, and children and widowed spouses of deceased workers (81%). Eighty-six percent believe that current Social Security benefits don’t provide enough income for retirees, and 72% are in favor of raising Social Security benefits.
It’s prudent politics to extol a program that enjoys this level of popularity. But the proof is in the proposals, and on this point, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party have demonstrated a deeper commitment to protecting this cherished and critical program than have Donald Trump and the GOP.
This November, vote like your retirement security depends on it.
