Dave Brat, the Republican candidate running for Eric Cantor’s former seat in the 7th Congressional District, and his Democratic opponent, Jack Trammell, don’t agree on much. But both propose raising the retirement age to ensure Social Security payouts for future generations.
Trammell said he would consider increasing the eligibility age by two years, “but that decision would need to be weighed against changes to other programs to be certain there are no gaps. There are many moving parts to these programs.”
Brat has proposed increasing the age by five years, but he said this measure alone won’t solve the problem of what he called an underfunded program.
“ Current seniors in the latest public finance books are taking $3 out for every dollar they put in,” he said.
Brat and Trammell discussed the state of Social Security and other entitlement programs Thursday in separate interviews with editors and reporters at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
People are also reading…
Under current law, the earliest age to collect Social Security retirement benefits is 62, but widows and widowers may be able to collect as early as 60.
To Brat, the fiscal impact of unfunded liabilities from these programs will inevitably result in a “national crisis” that he said lawmakers from both parties are ignoring. He cited an estimate
of nearly $127 trillion, a figure that is based on calculations by USDebtClock.org and has been reported by Forbes magazine and several other sources.
“When I ask people if they have heard that number from a politician, no hands go up, ever. If politicians won’t bring up the biggest economic problem we have, that takes up the entire federal budget by 2030. … You’re talking about these government shutdowns in the short run, but no one is talking about the biggest problem we have,” Brat said.
Brat said Congress needs to have a conversation on how to continue funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare Part D, the drug entitlement program that President George W. Bush signed into law in 2003.
“The first thing you do is raise the issue and tell the American people what the problem is,” he said.
Brat did not provide a specific plan for how to reform Medicaid, which is expected to double over the decade as Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act kicks in.
“I just want to at least start the discussion, I think that’s enough for now,” he said, adding that these unfunded liabilities are not an economic but “a moral and political problem.”
While Trammell acknowledged that changes are needed to protect payouts of Social Security benefits for coming generations, he accused Brat of “promoting the illusion” that the program is in severe financial trouble.
“This is just not reality,” he said. “The truth is, Social Security has paid its benefits in full and on time for 76 years. It is a strong and effective retirement program that provides millions of Americans some financial security.”
Social Security, Trammell said, is projected “to deliver full guaranteed benefits through 2033 and with modest changes the program can meet its obligations indefinitely.”
Both candidates agreed that a solution to keep entitlement programs viable in the long term must be bipartisan.
Libertarian candidate James Carr said in an interview Monday that none of the major entitlement programs belongs on the federal government level and that it should be left to individuals to manage their retirement or health care expense planning.
“The federal government spends more than it brings in every year. This is not a good investment group. All these cuts to these programs are happening because the government has not been managing them well,” Carr said.
