Morning Plum: Dems ratchet up push for expansion (yup) of Social Security
By Greg Sargent
June 10 at 9:14 am
The idea has long remained outside the boundaries of acceptable Beltway discourse, but more and more Dems are coming around to it: Instead of getting drawn onto GOP austerity turf — into a debate over how much to cutSocial Security — Dems should instead go on offense on the issue and push for an expansion of the program.
Today, I’m told, Senate Democrats will introduce a proposal to expand Social Security benefits for certain groups — and it is picking up the support of a member of the Democratic leadership, Senator Patty Murray of Washington State. Senator Mark Begich of Alaska will take the lead on the proposal, and he and Murry will speak about it on the Senate floor this afternoon.
The new proposal is called the Retirement and Income Security Enhancements Act, or RAISE Act, and it would increase benefits specifically for groups who have seen their retirement security eroded by recent economic trends such as the transition to two-earner families, stagnating wages, declining savings, and the erosion of pensions. It would increase benefits for many divorced spouses, and widows and widowers, and would extend benefit eligibility for some children of retired, disabled or deceased workers – to be paid for by a two-percent payroll tax on earnings over $400,000, which is also designed to help shore up the program’s long-term finances.
This afternoon on the Senate floor, Murray will say:
“Wages have stayed flat — or even declined for some. And fewer companies offer the kinds of generous pension plans that used to help so many workers say financially secure…For 75 years our Social Security system has offered millions of seniors and their families a foundation of financial security.[...] “But a lot has changed in those 75 years….today most families have two earners. Because Social Security was designed for single earner families, surviving spouses in families where both adults worked may receive less in benefits than they deserve…The RAISE Act would make some commonsense updates to ensure our Social Security system is doing everything possible to help seniors and their families.”
The framing reflects a growing sense among Dems that they can win the argument over entitlements by framing it as a battle over which party would boost the retirement security of the elderly, and which would erode it. Republicans will surely accuse Dems of fiscal recklessness, but they will counter that Republicans are merely displaying their priorities once again by opposing higher taxes on the wealthy to bolster the economic security of those hurt by the Great Recession.
To be sure, it’s anybody’s guess whether this proposal will ever get a Senate vote. Still, today’s measure represents another step forward for an idea that originally was only pushed by liberal bloggers such as Atrios. It’s also telling that Begich, in particular, is pushing the proposal, because he is locked in one of the toughest reelection fights in the country. Begich recently said he actually views expanding Social Security as good politics for Dems, arguing: “Are we for or against helping seniors have a dignified life in their later years? I’m for that.”
It’s true that many Democrats remain reluctant to embrace the proposal. But an increasing number of Dems — including Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Tom Harkin, Jeff Merkley and 70 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — believe it’s good politics to push for an expansion of a hugely popular program that has been central to the Democratic Party’s identity for many decades. Indeed, whether or not the proposal goes anywhere, the push to expand Social Security is emerging as another key issue in the broader debate among Dems and liberals over whether the Democratic Party needs to get serious about moving in a genuinely populist direction, which could resonate into 2016 and beyond. |
