96% of Americans see Social Security as im- portant, with strong bipartisan support, as 98% of Democrats, 95% of Republicans, and 95% of independents agree on its value. A recent Pew Research Center report
states, “Few if any programs of the U.S. gov- ernment touch as many people directly as Social Security.”
THE SOLUTION Politicians must balance two competing forc- es: the risk of trying to implement significant changes and an arguably greater threat from the electorate if they don’t find a fix. The Trump administration recently sug-
“These measures will save American taxpayers billions of dollars every
year and ensure that future generations receive the benefits they spent their lives paying into.”
— President Donald Trump
gested it could stop the hemorrhaging by re- ducing fraud and increasing efficiency. “To further strengthen Social Security,
my Administration is aggressively rooting out all fraud, waste, and abuse . . . includ- ing stopping payments to the deceased and eliminating benefits for those who do not legally qualify,” wrote Trump in an Aug. 14 proclamation. “These measures will save American tax-
payers billions of dollars every year and en- sure that future generations receive the ben- efits they spent their lives paying into.” Tech titan Elon Musk told reporters in
March that his work for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which in- cluded removing millions of deceased citi- zens from the database, would be enough to restore the program’s fiscal stability. On May 22, DOGE posted on X that,
“12.3M individuals aged 120+ have now been marked as deceased” and purged from Social Security rolls. However, economists warn that more ag-
gressive measures are necessary to keep the program’s payout schedule on track. Economist Andrew G. Biggs, a senior fel-
low at the American Enterprise Institute and former principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration, told News- max that the program can be easily reformed through a vote in Congress — if only Con- gress has the political will to act.
64 NEWSMAX | OCTOBER 2025
“It’s a very contentious issue, but I don’t
know a single Social Security expert who thinks the current system is sustainable with- out changes,” said Biggs. “Politicians on both sides of the aisle like
to promise that benefits will never be cut, and that is good policy,” he said. “But because it is a pay-as-you-go system, either more money needs to come in or less money goes out, and I think that an overwhelming majority would agree that more benefits need to come in.” The polling supports Biggs: A 2024 Pew
survey shows 79% oppose any cuts, “a view broadly shared across ages, racial and eth- nic groups, partisan affiliations, and in- come brackets.” Biggs, who served during the second Bush
administration, supports a form of means- testing, targeting benefits at low earners while encouraging private savings. Currently, Social Security is funded by a
6.2% payroll tax on earnings up to $176,100 for 2025, with employers matching this amount. The Social Security Administration
oversees a trust fund that distributes ben- efits based on lifetime earnings and contri- butions. These benefits, which are adjusted annu-
ally for inflation, include retirement, disabil- ity, and survivor benefits, serving over 70 mil- lion Americans. One common proposal, which Biggs
supports, is to eliminate or raise the payroll tax cap. “When the program started, Social Secu-
rity was an easy promise to make,” said Biggs. “There were very few retirees, and the origi- nal payroll tax was 2% of your first $3,000 in earnings. But the question is, does that still make sense 100 years later?” Biggs added: “Every country has a safety
net to provide security, but what’s different in America is that we pay high benefits to high- income people.” Other ideas that have been proposed in- clude broadening the tax base to include in-
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