Blue Press Journal

Tag: Social Security trust fund

  • How to Help ” Save” Social Security

    by Winston Wendell

    NOVEMBER 8, 2026

    As the Social Security Trust fund faces a future deficit in the next decade, policies to help can be considered. One of the most effective ways to help is increasing or abolishing the personal Social Security tax cap.

    Sign stating Social Security tax cap is $168,600, beside cash, calculator, and tax facts booklet

    In 2026, the amount of money you can earn before you start paying tax is capped at $184,500. Once your earnings are above this amount you will not pay any Social Security tax (6.2%). By increasing or abolishing this cap we can see some benefits:

    Social Security actuaries estimate that removing the cap entirely without providing matching increased benefits would close roughly 67% of the program’s long-term actuarial deficit. If the additional taxed earnings are allowed to accrue toward higher eventual retirement benefits for those earners, it would close about 48% of the long-term funding gap.

    Increased Trust fund sustainability. Increasing the amount of income taxed helps raise money. If the cap was abolished completely then it would make up most of Social Security’s funding problems. This would mean that it would last for many years without reducing benefits substantially.

    Fairer taxation. Lower and middle earners pay tax on all their earnings. This means that higher earners have a lower tax rate than lower/middle earners. Removing the cap would create a fairer and more progressive tax system.

    Protects lower and middle earners. Money is being raised from the highest earners meaning policies such as increasing the retirement age and reducing cost of living increases won’t need to be implemented.

    Overall increasing the tax cap would help provide a sustainable future for Social Security by providing targeted revenue.

  • The Big Beautiful Bill Tax Giveaway: How Billionaires Pay Lower Rates Than Workers While Social Security Faces Insolvency

    Giant 'ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT' scroll rolls toward a man holding 'WHAT ABOUT US?' sign.

    Blue Press Journal – The Republican-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act—championed by Donald Trump and GOP leadership—represents one of the largest tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy in modern American history. While working families face stagnant wages and rising costs, multiple independent analyses using IRS data confirm a stark reality: America’s billionaires and richest households often pay lower effective tax rates than the average teacher, nurse, or construction worker.

    The discrepancy stems from systemic favoritism toward wealth over work. Because much of billionaire income derives from unrealized capital gains rather than taxable wages, the ultra-rich exploit structural loopholes that the Big Beautiful Bill expands rather than closes. Independent economic analyses suggest that equalizing effective tax rates—ensuring billionaires pay roughly what middle-class workers contribute—could generate between $500 billion and $1 trillion annually in new revenue.

    Instead, current trajectory is fiscally catastrophic. As of late 2025, U.S. national debt exceeds $38 trillion, driven significantly by Trump-era and GOP tax cuts favoring millionaires and billionaires. The debt grows by over $2 trillion per year, with nearly $1 trillion consumed annually by interest payments alone—crowding out investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and elder security.

    Simultaneously, Social Security faces an imminent solvency crisis. According to the Social Security Administration (ssa.gov), the trust fund faces depletion between 2032–2034, triggering automatic benefit cuts of 20–28% unless Congress intervenes [^1^][^2^]. While Social Security’s 75-year funding gap remains smaller than the national debt, relatively modest revenue increases—derived from billionaire wealth taxes—could delay or prevent these devastating cuts.

    However, current law limits Social Security financing to payroll taxes. Redirecting wealth-based taxes to the trust fund would need congressional action for modification—a feasible yet politically blocked solution by lawmakers who approved the Big Beautiful Bill giveaways.

    Sources: [^1^]: Social Security Administration. “Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs.” ssa.gov. [^2^]: Newsweek. “Social Security Benefit Cuts Projected Timeline.” newsweek.com. [^3^]: WGME. “Social Security Trust Fund Shortfall Analysis.” wgme.com.