Elizabeth Warren Wants To Raise Taxes and Give All the Money to Senior Citizens
Her plan to fix Social Security's fiscal flaws would ask workers to cover the full cost. Some Republicans are supporting it too.
Social Security
Even an AI-Sparked Economic Miracle Will Not Save the Federal Budget
Congress cannot sit by and hope for AI to fix the deficit.
Social Security Is Going Bankrupt Because Its Benefits Are Too Generous
Social Security's approaching insolvency is usually talked about as a revenue problem. It's actually a spending problem.
Trump's Government-Funded Retirement Plan Misses the Point
The fiscal objection is serious. But the deeper problem is that the proposal misunderstands the saving behavior of the households it aims to help.
America's Debt Problem Is a Health Care Problem
And the government's "solution" is making it worse.
What if Social Security Was Capped at $100,000 Annually?
One weird trick could extend Social Security's solvency while reducing payments to the wealthiest households. But it doesn't go far enough.
Trump's New Budget—Which Proposes $1.5 Trillion for Defense—Is Unserious. You Should Still Take It Seriously.
It would be easy to wave it away and move on. But that's how the U.S. got in such a dire fiscal situation.
You Are Paying for Retirees' Lavish Lifestyles
How America's old-age entitlement system became a sprawling lifestyle-subsidy program that steals from the poor to give to the rich.
U.S. To Spend $24.4 Trillion More Than It Has Over the Next Decade, Report Warns
The cost of paying the interest is now the central story, and it's a grim one.
Politicians Want To Avoid Reforming Social Security and Medicare. You Will Pay the Price.
Inflation is a silent tax—and the most painful way to finance government promises.
Why Mitt Romney's Call To Tax the Rich Falls Apart
Yes, the status quo is unsustainable. But Romney's proposed solution risks making those problems harder to fix while foreclosing opportunities for the next generation.
The U.S. Is Stealing From Millennials and Gen Z To Make Boomers Even Richer
Social insurance programs are compatible with a basic safety net. But what we have now is a slow-motion generational fleecing.
Why DOGE Mattered
It didn't meaningfully cut spending or reduce the size of government, but the DOGE project proved that politicians shouldn't be scared of doing those things.
America Is in a Golden Age. Are We Headed Toward a Roman Ending?
"Once you have an ever-expanding system of entitlements that you can't afford, that's often the beginning of the decline and fall," says historian Johan Norberg.
Rep. Chip Roy on Spending, Immigration, and the American Dream
"I think members of Congress believe that they get more popularity in votes by spending money. I actually disagree with that," the Texas Republican tells Reason.
Bitcoin in Retirement Accounts Could Be a Good Idea
Trump’s executive order directs the Labor Department to loosen rules on retirement accounts, potentially shifting trillions in savings toward higher-return, but riskier assets like bitcoin.
Americans Misunderstand Social Security but Appear Open to Reform
Younger Americans seem ready to treat the program as a safety net, not a retirement plan.
We're Lying to Ourselves About Taxes, Spending, and the Debt
It's time to ask what level of spending Americans truly want with the money we actually have.
A Social Security Bailout Would Cost Younger Workers $157,000 in Higher Taxes
To keep Social Security solvent without cutting benefits would require a massive hike in payroll taxes, which would fall entirely on working Americans.
Social Security and Medicare Are Racing Toward Drastic Cuts—Yet Lawmakers Refuse To Act
Other countries have taken meaningful steps to address similar challenges. The U.S. has done nothing.
We're 8 Years Away From an Automatic 23 Percent Cut in Social Security Payouts
Social Security’s board of trustees expects the program to be insolvent in eight years.
Will He, Won't He
Plus: Iran strikes an Israeli hospital, Social Security and Medicare are still running out of money, Trump erects a giant flagpole, and more…
Josh Hawley Wants To Raise the Minimum Wage
It’s not the only way the Republican senator is closer to democratic socialism than to traditional conservatism.
How Does the National Debt Affect You? A Budget Expert Explains.
Higher debt means lower wages, higher interest rates, and fewer opportunities, says Romina Boccia of the Cato Institute.
Trump's New Budget Is Another Blueprint for Big Spending
We don't need more of the same. We need evidence of a serious turnaround.
Pesky Judges
Courts stop DOGE from accessing Social Security Administration data and prevent Homeland Security from deporting Georgetown fellow Badar Khan Suri.
Immigrants Are a Boon to the U.S. Economy
Studies have continuously shown that migrants create more jobs than they destroy.
Yes, Cutting Government Waste Is Important
Entitlements are a much bigger expense, but that doesn't mean the waste doesn't matter.
Dead People Aren't Bankrupting Us
Plus: Democrat disruptions, Columbia University scrutinized by the feds, and more...
DOGE and Congress Should Look Hard at Reforming Social Security
Means-test Social Security, raise the retirement age, and let us invest our own money.
The Government Named This Baby 'Unakite Thirteen Hotel.' Years Later, Her Father Still Can't Change It.
He also can't get a birth certificate or Social Security number for his daughter.
Social Security's Insolvency Is Driven by Benefits for the Living, Not Fraud by the Dead
Elon Musk claims to have uncovered massive fraud within Social Security, but those data are already well known and not a major problem.
DOGE Is Good. It's Not Enough.
Even if the Department of Government Efficiency eliminates all improper payments and fraud, we'll still be facing a debt explosion—which requires structural reform.
The DOGE Bait and Switch
The pretend department’s downgraded mission reflects the gap between Trump’s promise of "smaller government" and the reality of what can be achieved without new legislation.
America Is Going Broke. Will the Department of Government Efficiency Help?
Eliminating the deficit requires cutting the biggest spending—defense, Medicare, Social Security. So far, Trump says he won't touch those.
Will 2025 Be the Year of U.S. Fiscal Sanity?
With inflation risks persisting and entitlement spending surging, the situation cannot be ignored. But we never should have gotten to this point to begin with.
Social Security Is Deeply Unfair. The Social Security Fairness Act Won't Fix That.
What is paid out to Social Security beneficiaries is not a return on workers' investments. It's just a government expenditure, like any other.
The IRS Is Required To Protect Kids From Identity Theft. They're Not Complying.
One in four kids will be the victim of identity theft or fraud. Here's how the government is making it worse.
Senate Tees Up $200 Billion Social Security Giveaway to Public Sector Workers
The Social Security Fairness Act will boost payouts to public sector workers who receive pensions and did not pay taxes to support Social Security.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency Can—and Should—Tackle Medicare and Social Security
Doing nothing will lead to Medicare benefits being cut by 11 percent and Social Security Benefits being cut by 23 percent in less than a decade.
DOGE Can Succeed by Scaling Back Its Ambitions
The new advisory group promises bold savings and massive spending cuts, but without any expertise in the federal budget, it’s likely to be all bark and no bite.
Social Security Approaches Its Day of Reckoning
Americans should plan for their futures rather than relying on a nonexistent Social Security “trust fund.”
Abolish Social Security
Stop robbing poor, hard-working Peter to pay well-off, retired Paul.
Trump's First Term Wasn't Fiscally Responsible. Will His Second Be Different?
Even before the pandemic spending increase, the budget deficit was approaching $1 trillion. The GOP has the chance to embrace fiscal sanity this time if they can find the political will.
To Succeed at Cutting Government, Musk and Ramaswamy Must Take on Entitlements
When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse, what's lacking is not ideas but the political will to act on them.
Trump Has No Discernible Interest in Fiscal Responsibility
The president-elect’s record and campaign positions belie Elon Musk’s talk of spending cuts.
Neither Trump Nor Harris Wants To Drain the Swamp. They Want You To Join It.
Both candidates have promised a litany of special favors to handpicked constituencies. If you don't fit into the right categories, you'll pay the price.
