{"id":36141,"date":"2024-09-13T13:16:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T20:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=36141"},"modified":"2024-09-13T13:16:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T20:16:45","slug":"wyden-says-trillions-in-taxes-dodged-by-ultra-rich-could-fund-social-security-until-2100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/13\/wyden-says-trillions-in-taxes-dodged-by-ultra-rich-could-fund-social-security-until-2100\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyden Says Trillions in Taxes Dodged by Ultra-Rich Could Fund Social Security Until 2100"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Martin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Martin O’Malley, commissioner of the Social Security Administration, talks with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on September 11, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The ultra-wealthy are avoiding nearly $2 trillion in taxes every 10 years,” said Sen. Ron Wyden. “That’s where we ought to go to start making progress.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JAKE JOHNSON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sep 11, 2024 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee said during a hearing Wednesday that instead of tossing Social Security’s sacred guarantee<\/a> “in the trash” by cutting benefits, lawmakers should crack down on mega-rich tax dodgers as a way to keep the New Deal program fully solvent for decades to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The ultra-wealthy are avoiding nearly $2 trillion in taxes every 10 years,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing. “That is enough to keep Social Security whole till the end of this century.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That’s where we ought to go to start making progress,” Wyden added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senator’s remarks came during a hearing titled “Social Security Forever: Delivering Benefits and Protecting Retirement Security,” which featured testimony from Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley and several expert witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who presided over the hearing, used his opening remarks to blast GOP proposals to raise the retirement age<\/a>, a change he said would “especially hurt low-income retirees.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitehouse, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, acknowledged that some Republicans have pushed back<\/a> on the notion that the GOP wants to cut Social Security benefits. But if Social Security benefit cuts “really are off the table,” the senator said, “that leaves only one other option to prevent insolvency: raise revenue.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is no third option. And that means it’s time to get to work identifying smart, fair ways to raise revenue, fund the Social Security Trust Fund, and preserve and protect benefits,” Whitehouse continued. “Fortunately, there are solutions that would both extend Social Security solvency indefinitely with zero benefit cuts and make our tax system fairer, like my Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At today's @SenateBudget<\/a> hearing, @SenWhitehouse<\/a> slams Republican plans to slash $1.5 trillion from Social Security.

Whitehouse plans to strengthen Social Security by requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share! pic.twitter.com\/nWRJt3hUWp<\/a><\/p>— Social Security Works (@SSWorks) September 11, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>