reconciliation bill – TERRY THOMPSON

Did all of my fellow Social Security recipients do a victory dance (at least figuratively) when the One Big Beautiful Bill, or OBBB, passed including the No Tax on Social Security provision? Well, we did get the biggest-in-history tax break for seniors. But, sorry, almost all of us will still be taxed on Social Security. Let’s see what’s really in the Bill.

The OBBB was a long-shot from its beginning considering the slim Republican margins in both the House and Senate. Thus, the legislation was crafted by the President’s Administration as a reconciliation bill, a partisan procedure used sometimes to avoid a Senate filibuster. A filibuster would require a 60% vote to stop it and pass the bill in the Senate with at least a 51% vote. However, reconciliation also limits what laws can be changed including Social Security. So, Trump’s insistence on eliminating federal taxes on Social Security had to be done by other means.

Reconciliation procedures do allow for the inclusion of new or revised tax deductions beginning with the 2025 tax year. Therefore, the bill provided a temporary tax deduction for most seniors. I say temporary, because the deduction expires in 2028. Hopefully, it will be reinstated at that time. Impact assessments are that 88% of Social Security recipients 65 and older may deduct an additional $6,000 per person with incomes below $75,000 per year, or $12,000 per couple with earnings below $150,000. These deductions phase out for incomes above the the maximums indicated. Government calculations are that, for almost 90% of seniors, this extra deduction will more than offset the federal taxes that will still be levied on Social Security. Most states don’t tax Social Security.

Although, most seniors are grateful for the additional tax deduction, it is disingenuous to hype the Bill as ensuring “no tax on Social Security.” Those above the income cap will lose some or all the deduction and still pay the tax. Some at low income levels, who do not pay any taxes, will not receive the deduction. And, in everyone’s case, it only lasts four years if not extended. I would prefer the Administration and Congress call it what it is rather than playing name games. The Bill really has nothing to do with Social Security. If you choose to receive Social Security at age 62, you don’t get the deduction until you’re 65, but, if you choose to wait until you’re beyond the collection age, you still get the deduction on reaching 65.

I believe the better way to handle Social Security tax is to eliminate income tax altogether. All things considered, in my opinion, federal government operations should be funded with some kind of consumption tax. Why do Americans have a disincentive to earn and save along with an incentive to buy? The value-added tax (VAT) or other forms of consumption tax are often criticized for being regressive for lower income people. That can be rather easily offset by vouchers, exemptions, or other means to level the playing field. While we’re at it, let’s get rid of local real estate and property taxes which punish home owners and vehicle buyers with never-ending taxes.

The best legislation for Social Security is to reform the entire program, making it self-sustaining instead of going broke after 2034. Several very good plans for saving Social Security have been proposed including raising the minimum age for recipients, including investments in a hybrid contribution plan, means testing for different levels of payout, etc. Something has to be done, but Congress has not grown the backbone to tackle the controversial issue. We need to keep the pressure on Washington, or Social Security is not going to work for anyone in less than a decade.

So, my fellow chronologically advanced friends and loved ones, let’s celebrate the OBBB, but don’t lose sight of what it really does and does not do for us regarding Social Security.

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Whatever you’re doing right now, delay it until you have contacted your senators and representative demanding they kill the infrastructure and social engineering reconciliation bills. These two bills with thousands of pages contain legislation that will raise your taxes, increase prices of everything, quash your precious freedoms, and, worst of all, sink our already-submerging economy. Both bills are bad on balance, but there are some especially dangerous aspects of them you may not be aware of.

With the latest negotiations on the $3.5 trillion social engineering reconciliation bill, we are being lulled into thinking it is being reduced to something we can live with. Wrong! Most of the reductions come from simply shortening the duration of the obscene entitlement giveaways. In reality, those programs, when expiring, will be easily extended. Hardly any government programs ever expire. Provisions for unprecedented entitlements and climate change policy will ultimately be paid for by the poor and middle class. Do not be fooled by the rhetoric. Nothing is free! Even if the Democrats acquiesce to lower the price tag to below $2 trillion by dropping some programs, they will just move those programs into some other social spending bills. The president has publicly said as much. And the remaining programs will be the highest priorities of the radical left’s wish list.

Then there is the trillion-dollar Infrastructure Bill which passed the Senate with several Republican votes, because it was presumably to fix our roads, bridges, ports, and internet access. However, knowing some Republicans would want to support those valid needs, the Democrats sneaked in a liberal gender and LGBTQ piece that essentially includes the core of the Equality Bill that was rejected earlier this year. This insertion reads, “No individual in the United States may, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that is funded in whole or in part with funds made available to carry out this title” (Emphasis added). This would guarantee all transgender and LGBTQ persons the same rights as those protected by the 1965 Equal Rights Act. It could be catastrophic for churches and Christian business owners.

These bills together, at any level, will form the flagship for the Biden administration’s ill-conceived, sinister plan to move America radically to the left. The bills would be a giant step toward socialism becoming the cultural norm for our nation. The Infrastructure Bill would be acceptable if the non-infrastructure pork and sexual perversion provisions were removed, However, Speaker Pelosi is adamant that the two bills must be voted on together in order to guarantee the passage of the larger, more controversial reconciliation bill. The only right answer is to completely defeat both bills and restart a clean infrastructure bill without the non-infrastructure attachments.

Our voices must be loud and clear against this legislative monstrosity. Enter the battle now!

Tag: reconciliation bill

Two Poison Bills: Biden’s Last-ditch Effort to Ruin America

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