Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) laid into President Biden and former President Trump on Thursday, accusing both of not having a real plan to save Social Security.
Earlier this week, Trump commented on Social Security and Medicare, saying “there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting.” The remarks opened him up to criticisms from Biden, who vowed on the campaign trail that he would “never allow it to happen.”
Responding to this fight, Fox Business’s Stuart Varney asked Cassidy for his thoughts on the state of Social Security. Varney noted that full Social Security trust funds are projected to be depleted if nothing is done.
“First, Joe Biden’s plan, which has no political chance of passing whatsoever, will result in a 24 percent cut to Social Security. Period. That’s under current law,” Cassidy said. “And frankly, Trump doesn’t have a real plan either.”
Projections from the Congressional Budget Office have estimated that Social Security benefits could be reduced by at least 20 percent if no changes are made to the program. Recent projections show Social Security trust funds becoming depleted some time in the 2030s.
Cassidy shared his proposed plans for saving Social Security, modeled after how other countries maintain their retirement funds. The senator’s plan would involve the creation of an investment fund, separate from the Social Security Trust Fund.
“You set up a fund separate from the Social Security Trust Fund, put 1.5 trillion in it, invest it in the stock market just like 401(k)s do and allow it to grow over time. That’s what like the Canadian pension fund does,” Cassidy told Varney. “Every national fund around the world does it except for Social. If we did it for Social, we could actually bail out social and make the program better.”
“[Beneficiaries] would be part of the group and the individual would repeal that 24 percent cut in benefits, which right now Joe Biden and Donald Trump frankly are going to enforce on the American people because their plans have no political chance of passing,” Cassidy added.
Varney questioned Cassidy on what would happen if the stock market goes down in his proposed plan. Cassidy argued investing in the economy has averaged a return of 8.5 percent since 1929, further adding, “If the economy sinks, we’ve got bigger problems than Social Security.”
Cassidy explained his proposal, which he refers to as his “Big Idea,” earlier this month in a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal.
“This isn’t a radical idea. It’s already used by the federal government in the Thrift Savings Plan, as Messrs. Keeley and Puzder point out, and elsewhere, including the Wisconsin Retirement System, the U.S. National Railroad Retirement Trust and Canada Pension Plan,” wrote Cassidy. “Other countries use the U.S. stock market for their retirement and sovereign wealth funds, but the U.S. doesn’t.