Round after round of recent economic stimulus in various forms has deficit hawks concerned about the potential damage done.
The Trump Administration has entertained certain proposals that recommend curbing future federal retirement benefits to combat the situation, according to The Washington Post.
One involves current 401(k) Specialist cover subject Andrew Biggs, and would allow Americans “to choose to receive checks of up to $5,000 in exchange for a delay of their Social Security benefits,” the paper writes.
Biggs, former deputy director with the Social Security Administration and a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, developed the plan with Joshua Rauh of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He found himself immediately fending criticism upon publication of the story Sunday.
“Giving the financially illiterate a difficult financial choice (that is behaviorally loaded) is purposefully harmful,” one critic tweeted.
“Part of the construction of the proposal with @joshrauh was to make the choices and trade-offs as straightforward as possible,” Biggs answered.
“AEI and Hoover are complicit in genocide, if that’s the case,” another posted. “Keeping people alive can’t come at the cost of gutting Social Security, Medicare, and the rest of government as we used to know it.”
“Quote of the day: voluntarily giving up a few months of future Social Security benefits in exchange for a low-interest loan today equals genocide. Thank you, Twitter,” Biggs responded.
Eagle Plan
A second proposal, dubbed the “Eagle Plan,” calls for an “overhaul of federal retirement programs in exchange for upfront payments to some workers.”
The White House has reportedly already rejected the it, but the plan advocates giving Americans $10,000 early in order to curb future federal retirement benefits like Social Security, according to a copy obtained by the Post.
The paper adds that Art Laffer, a conservative economist advising the White House, supports it.
The Eagle Plan was also written by Paul Touw, who reports to State Department undersecretary Keith Krach, a close associate of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the Post notes.
Trump had repeatedly stated his support for, and protection of, the Social Security program, and he has reportedly not seen the plan. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the president “would not support it or any proposal that cuts into benefits.”
“The mere thought of this so-called ‘plan’ is ludicrous on its face,” Gidley told the paper. “President Trump has been clear that while he is in office, the American people can feel secure without a shadow of a doubt that he will completely protect Social Security and Medicare — end of story, full stop.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
