{"id":29567,"date":"2024-05-16T09:11:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T13:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=29567"},"modified":"2024-05-16T09:11:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T13:11:18","slug":"op-ed-social-security-must-not-be-left-behind-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=29567","title":{"rendered":"Op\/Ed: Social Security must not be left behind In 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Becky Corbin<\/strong>, Special to The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Becky Corbin. Times file photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Presumptive<\/span> presidential<\/span> nominees<\/span> President<\/span> Biden<\/span> and<\/span> former<\/span> President<\/span> Trump<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> lot of<\/span> stops<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> campaign<\/span> trail,<\/span> and<\/span> Pennsylvania<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> right<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> top<\/span> of<\/span> their<\/span> list.<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> Keystone<\/span> State<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> crucial<\/span> destination<\/span> for<\/span> any<\/span> candidate<\/span> for<\/span> national<\/span> office,<\/span> and<\/span><\/p>\n

combined<\/span> with<\/span> our<\/span> state\u2019s<\/span> competitive<\/span> Senate<\/span> race,<\/span> voters<\/span> here<\/span> in<\/span> Pennsylvania<\/span> are<\/span> in<\/span> for<\/span> a <\/span>whirlwind campaign season. It will no doubt be a thrilling few months for both candidates and voters, but one area every candidate will need to address is how to solve the problem of protecting Social Security. Failure to do so and the possibility of cuts will be a huge disservice to Pennsylvania voters.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no understating the importance of Social Security to the American people. As a fund<\/span> that<\/span> taxpayers<\/span> pay<\/span> into<\/span> directly<\/span> throughout<\/span> their<\/span> careers,<\/span> Social<\/span> Security<\/span> stands<\/span> as<\/span> a commitment<\/span> to<\/span> hardworking<\/span> Americans<\/span> who<\/span> spend<\/span> decades<\/span> contributing<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> program <\/span>with the promise that they will realize their monetary investment upon retiring. Tens of millions of Americans depend on Social Security, and just in Pennsylvania, 19.6%<\/span> of the population is aged 65 or older, the age when most Americans begin to collect the Social Security benefits they\u2019ve paid into for decades.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, some members of Congress have floated ideas that would put Social Security<\/span> at<\/span> risk.<\/span> Thankfully,<\/span> President<\/span> Biden<\/span> and<\/span> former<\/span> President<\/span> Trump<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> credit, <\/span>have maintained their full opposition to any proposed cuts to the program. However,<\/p>\n

neither of them has offered up a comprehensive plan detailing how exactly they\u2019d fulfill this promise and protect Americans\u2019 retirement benefits from harmful proposals in Congress. The need to speak out about the issue is especially urgent given that a growing number of Congressional Republicans are supportive<\/span> of a plan that would raise the retirement age, a move that would almost certainly lead to Social Security cuts for millions of Americans.<\/p>\n

In short, those hoping to represent Pennsylvania in Washington need to be loud and clear about how they plan to maintain and protect the financial integrity of the Social Security system. Both President Biden and former President Trump need to make clear their commitment to protecting Social Security, as do Senator Bob Casey and his Republican opponent<\/span> Dave<\/span> McCormick.<\/span> These<\/span> candidates<\/span> for<\/span> federal<\/span> office<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> show<\/span> how<\/span> they<\/span> will <\/span>keep the program safe from any cuts and commit their opposition to raising the retirement age.<\/span><\/p>\n

According<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> recent<\/span> study,<\/span> 90%<\/span> of<\/span> Pennsylvania’s<\/span> voters<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> age<\/span> of<\/span> 50<\/span> have<\/span> promised <\/span>to make their voices heard loud and clear in the upcoming November election. The same study indicated that two-thirds of this group will use a candidate’s position on Social Security as one of the main factors in determining their vote. Even a casual political<\/p>\n

observer<\/span> understands<\/span> what<\/span> a<\/span> drastic<\/span> mistake<\/span> it<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> to<\/span> overlook<\/span> a<\/span> policy<\/span> of<\/span> such <\/span>importance to a key voting bloc if they hope to be victorious in November.<\/p>\n

Becky<\/i><\/span> <\/i>Corbin<\/i><\/span> <\/i>is<\/i><\/span> <\/i>a<\/i><\/span> <\/i>former<\/i><\/span> <\/i>Member<\/i><\/span> <\/i>of<\/i><\/span> <\/i>the<\/i><\/span> <\/i>Pennsylvania<\/i><\/span> <\/i>House<\/i><\/span> <\/i>of<\/i><\/span> <\/i>Representatives from Chester County.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Becky Corbin, Special to The Times Presumptive presidential nominees President Biden and former President Trump have a lot of stops to make on the campaign trail, and Pennsylvania will be right at the top of their list. The Keystone State is a crucial destination for any candidate for national office, and combined with our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[11608,3738,11240,3162,7888,5074],"class_list":["post-29567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-bob-casey-jr-dave-mccormick","tag-donald-trump","tag-election-2024","tag-featured","tag-joe-biden","tag-social-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29568,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29567\/revisions\/29568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}