It's their collective dream-- and the collective dream of all conservatives and all politicians-- like Biden-- who lick the ass cracks of the billionaire class. For the sake of the campaign, Biden has backed away, rhetorically at least, from talk of Grand Bargains; once he's in the White House, he's likely to ease right back there. As for Republicans, though... they're on the move. Trump is promising the billionaire class that if they help him win a second term, he'll do it.NBC News reported yesterday that if the Orange Menace were to permanently terminate the payroll tax-- as he's pledged to do-- and not offer another revenue source "The federal government’s ability to pay Social Security benefits could stop by mid-2023. The chief actuary, Stephen Goss, offered the prediction in a letter to Bernie Chris Van Hollen, Chuck Schumer and Ron Wyden, who requested an analysis of what would happen if the payroll tax is eliminated with no other funding stream for Social Security benefits." He ended his letter with this paragraph:
If this hypothetical legislation were enacted, with no alternative source of revenue to replace the elimination of payroll taxes on earned income paid on January 1, 2021 and thereafter, we estimate that DI Trust Fund asset reserves would become permanently depleted in about the middle of calendar year 2021, with no ability to pay DI benefits thereafter. We estimate that OASI [Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance ] Trust Fund reserves would become permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023, with no ability to pay OASI benefits thereafter.
If he manages to steal the election then starts obeying the law-- and why would he?-- he "wouldn’t be able to terminate the payroll tax unilaterally. Congress would have to pass legislation for that to happen, and with the makeup of the current Congress, the Democratic-controlled House would block any such proposal. A number of Republicans have also rejected calls for a payroll tax cut in the current Senate. [He] has said legislation to cut payroll taxes would specify that the money comes from the general fund. The SSA letter noted they were asked not to consider that scenario, which would not affect benefits. A measure to pull money from the general fund would be unlikely to pass under a divided Congress."See that video up top by the most endangered-- only endangered-- Democrat in the Senate, Doug Jones? He released it yesterday and it shows he's smart enough to appeal even to Alabama's conservative voters by bringing up the safety of Social Security, America's most cherished safety net program. I asked Julie Oliver how the news of Trump and his Republican enablers like her own opponent, Roger Williams, is being taken in central Texas. "Not only are we not going to allow Trump and Roger Williams to permanently defund social security-- we're going to tax the rich, so that they pay their fair share and so we can expand Social Security."