Social Security and Scary Looking Postcards

Wisconsin’s GOP recently flooded our mailboxes with scary-looking postcards claiming that Kamala Harris’ “amnesty plan for illegals” will destroy Social Security and Medicare. First off, providing “amnesty” would mean pardons for illegally crossing the border and granting legal status, and VP Harris has no such plan.

 

Secondly, while both programs may be unable to pay full benefits within the next 12 years (Social Security in 2035 and Medicare in 2036) without reforms, undocumented workers are actually helping keep these programs afloat, since payroll taxes are withheld from their wages though they’re unable to collect benefits.

 

The precarious standing of these programs is driven in large part by the gap between the number of workers paying in vs. retirees drawing benefits. So it’s actually Trump’s plan for mass deportations that threatens Social Security and Medicare by robbing them of workers paying into the system.

 

If we elect Kamala Harris, she will push for an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, help the immigrants who are already here to build productive lives, and lift the income cap (currently $168,600) after which wages aren’t subject to Social Security’s payroll tax.  That’s how we can boost the long-term solvency of these vital programs.