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Kamala Harris on Social Security

Democratic candidate for President (withdrawn); California Senator

 


Strengthen for the long haul by taxing millionaires

Vice President Harris will protect Social Security and Medicare against relentless attacks from Donald Trump and his extreme allies. She will strengthen Social Security and Medicare for the long haul by making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. She will always fight to ensure that Americans can count on getting the benefits they earned.
Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website KamalaHarris.com , Sep 9, 2024

Social Security Expansion: 12.4% on earnings over $250,000

Harris is staunchly opposed to any proposal that would reduce/cut Social Security benefits:
One concrete given is that the current vice president and likely Democratic presidential nominee will not support any proposals that reduce or cut Social Security benefits. This includes a core element of the Republican Party proposal -- gradually increasing the full retirement age from its current peak of 67 -- which would lower lifetime benefit collection.

As a Senator in California, Harris co-sponsored the Social Security Expansion Act:
In 2019, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) introduced the Social Security Expansion Act in the upper house of Congress. Then-Senator Kamala Harris of California was one of the bill's four co-sponsors. Instead of being reinstated on earned income above $400,000, the Social Security Expansion Act calls for the 12.4% payroll tax to recommence at $250,000. This bill would presumably raise even more revenue than Biden had proposed.

Source: Motley Fool blog on 2024 Presidential hopefuls , Jul 28, 2024

COLA adjustments and benefit boost for seniors

She favors cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) expansion for seniors:
The Social Security Expansion Act seeks to boost benefits amid a period of above-average inflation. One way this would be accomplished is by switching away from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as the program's inflationary measure in favor of the CPI for the Elderly (CPI-E). Whereas the CPI-W is focused on the spending habits of working-age Americans, the CPI-E measures the costs senior households (age 62 and above) are contending with. Over time, the CPI-E would be expected to increase annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).

Current and new beneficiaries would enjoy a $200/month benefit boost :
On top of modestly higher COLAs over an extended period, compared to the CPI-W, the Social Security Expansion Act that Harris co-sponsored would increase monthly benefits to current and new beneficiaries by $200 per month, or $2,400 annually.

Source: Motley Fool blog on 2024 Presidential hopefuls , Jul 28, 2024

End payroll tax loopholes: increase investment tax

As a Senator in California, Harris co-sponsored the Social Security Expansion Act:
In 2019, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) introduced the Social Security Expansion Act in the upper house of Congress. Then-Senator Kamala Harris of California was one of the bill's four co-sponsors.

Harris would have the rich pay their fair share by ending payroll tax loopholes:
In addition to the payroll tax being reinstated on earned income above $250,000, the wealthy could see some of their business and/or investment income subjected to a higher net investment income tax under the Social Security Expansion Act. This would be done by increasing the net investment income tax by 12.4% above its current level. Note that this matches the payroll tax applied to earned income, which currently excludes investment income.

Source: Motley Fool blog on 2024 Presidential hopefuls , Jul 28, 2024

Trump deficits will endanger Social Security

Harris said that a second term for Trump would endanger Social Security due to rising deficits. "To have four more years of this administration means to really put Social Security in jeopardy," she said. Harris said the widening deficit, which the White House projected this week will reach $1 trillion this year, was the result of Trump's tax bill, which "benefits the top 1% and the biggest corporations." Funds to make up the shortfall are "going to have to come from somewhere," she added.
Source: Bloomberg News magazine on 2020 candidates , Jul 16, 2019

Oppose entitlement cuts; strengthen these safety nets

Strengthening Social Security & Medicare: Social Security and Medicare are the bedrock of our social contract. Together, these safety net programs keep millions of seniors and people living with disabilities out of poverty. While some in Washington have voted to balance the budget on the backs of seniors, Kamala would oppose cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and believes we need to strengthen these safety nets.
Source: 2016 California Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org , Aug 31, 2016

Other candidates on Social Security: Kamala Harris on other issues:
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