One Way to Address the Wealth Gap: Stop ‘MacGyvering’ Social Security
1st September 2021
When I think about Social Security, I think about MacGyver. You know, the 1980s heartthrob who could defuse a bomb with a paperclip. (The show has even been rebooted) Bear with me. Time and time again, MacGyver would wait until the very last second to stave off disaster. With one second left on the clock, he would wiggle a wire, preventing some giant explosion. You know, sort of like how the U.S. treats the Social Security Trust Fund. The last amendments to the program to ensure its solvency were passed in April 1983, three months before its Trust Fund was to run out.
Well, the clock is ticking again. If nothing is done, the Social Security Trustees estimate that by 2034, the Trust Fund will be depleted. When that happens, the program will continue to function, but benefits will be cut by more than 20 percent. This reduction would obviously be a problem for the whopping one quarter of seniors who receive almost all of their income from the program. But it also has implications for an issue that has been gaining attention in the wake of COVID-19 — the racial wealth gap.