New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu is bullish on a billionaire-led effort to cut social safety nets for working-class Americans — including the political third rail of Social Security.
Semafor reporter David Weigel recently interviewed Sununu, who is retiring after his successor, Republican Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte, assumes office on January 8. The Granite State governor expressed optimism about billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” or “DOGE,” (which is not yet an actual federal agency authorized by Congress) which he is co-leading with billionaire pharmaceutical investor Vivek Ramaswamy.
While Musk and Ramaswamy’s advisory panel is expected to recommend the elimination of various labor and environmental regulations and the firing of thousands of public sector workers, Sununu is particularly hoping they will pursue cuts to both Medicare and Social Security. Sununu compared Musk and Ramaswamy’s efforts to former President George W. Bush’s failed proposal to privatize Social Security in 2005.
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“George W. Bush was absolutely right, and he’s been proven right time and time again,” Sununu said. “You have to move that retirement age. That’s just so obvious… Whether it’s 62 or 64 or 65, find the right number that works. Do it for the next generation. Allow some of this to be privatized. Those models have proven to be absolutely rock solid, and work.”
“George W. Bush was a couple of senators away from getting this done,” he added. “So many of America’s problems would be cured.”
Sununu specifically argued that the proposed austerity measures were necessary, saying: “In about eight years, Social Security benefits drop to 83%, Medicare goes bankrupt [and] the interest rates come due.” The first point seems to come from the May 2024 Social Security trustees report, which states that the fund reserves that help pay for Social Security benefits will be spent down by 2035.
However, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has pointed out, Social Security could be made solvent for decades by simply removing the cap on paying into fund. Currently, the super-rich only have to pay a 6.2% payroll tax of the first $132,900 they earn in a year into Social Security. But Sanders argues if that cap were removed, Social Security benefits would be fully paid for 52 more years. The Vermont senator added that seniors who earn less than $16,000 per year would get an additional $1,300 per month in benefits if that cap were removed.
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“When Republicans say they want to run back George W. Bush’s plan to destroy Social Security, believe them,” Social Security Works executive director Alex Lawson told AlterNet. “Elon Musk’s slash and burn commission is a transparent plot to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”
Like Social Security, Medicare is also not a contributor to the federal deficit. Just as both employers and employees contribute 6.2% toward Social Security, they also contribute a 1.45% Medicare tax from every paycheck to keep the program funded. And unlike Social Security, there’s no wage cap on paying into that fund.
While Medicare’s Hospital Insurance fund is expected to reach its limit in 2026, this can be remedied by — as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recommended in 2019 — repealing language in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that eliminated the individual mandate built into the Affordable Care Act. The individual mandate would decreased the number of uninsured patients, which decreases the amount Medicare pays for uncompensated care. The CBPP also called to reinstate the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was projected to help slow the growth of increasing costs.
Click here to read Weigel’s full report in Semafor.
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