In the United States,Social Security is the commonly used term for the federal Old-Age,Survivors,and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Social Security Act was passed in 1935,and the existing version of the Act,as amended,encompasses several social welfare and social insurance programs.
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security,a social insurance program consisting of retirement,disability and survivor benefits. To qualify for most of these benefits,most workers pay Social Security taxes on their earnings;the claimant's benefits are based on the wage earner's contributions. Otherwise benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are given based on need.
Dov S. Zakheim is an American businessman,writer,and former official of the United States government. In the Reagan administration,he held various Department of Defense positions. In 2000,Zakheim was a member of "The Vulcans",a group of foreign policy advisors assisting George W. Bush's presidential campaign. From 2001 to 2004 he was Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Defense.
The Social Security debate in the United States encompasses benefits,funding,and other issues. Social Security is a social insurance program officially called "Old-age,Survivors,and Disability Insurance" (OASDI),in reference to its three components. It is primarily funded through a dedicated payroll tax. During 2015,total benefits of $897 billion were paid out versus $920 billion in income,a $23 billion annual surplus. Excluding interest of $93 billion,the program had a cash deficit of $70 billion. Social Security represents approximately 40% of the income of the elderly,with 53% of married couples and 74% of unmarried persons receiving 50% or more of their income from the program. An estimated 169 million people paid into the program and 60 million received benefits in 2015,roughly 2.82 workers per beneficiary. Reform proposals continue to circulate with some urgency,due to a long-term funding challenge faced by the program as the ratio of workers to beneficiaries falls,driven by the aging of the baby-boom generation,expected continuing low birth rate,and increasing life expectancy. Program payouts began exceeding cash program revenues in 2011;this shortfall is expected to continue indefinitely under current law.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a progressive American think tank that analyzes the impact of federal and state government budget policies. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,the Center's stated mission is to "conduct research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals in these debates."
Heather Marie Boushey is an American economist who currently serves as a member of President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Advisers and the Chief Economist for the Invest in America Cabinet at the White House. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration,she was the president and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth,which she co-founded with John Podesta. She has also worked as an economist at the Center for American Progress,the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee,the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Economic Policy Institute. She has written for a variety of publications,including the New York Times,Washington Post,Democracy Journal,and the American Prospect. She regularly appears in the media to discuss economic issues.
Andrew Marshall Saul is an American businessman and political candidate who served as the 16th commissioner of the United States Social Security Administration from 2019 to 2021. Saul was fired from the position by President Joe Biden on July 9,2021,after refusing to offer his requested resignation. Saul stated that his discharge was illegal.
The inequality of wealth has substantially increased in the United States in recent decades. Wealth commonly includes the values of any homes,automobiles,personal valuables,businesses,savings,and investments,as well as any associated debts.
Alicia Haydock Munnell is an American economist who is the Peter F. Drucker Professor of Management Sciences at Boston College's Carroll School of Management. Educated at Wellesley College,Boston University,and Harvard University,Munnell spent 20 years as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,where she researched wealth,savings,and retirement among American workers. She served in the Bill Clinton administration as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Since 1997 she has been a professor at Boston College and director of its Center for Retirement Research,where she writes on retirement income policy.
Jared Bernstein is an American government official who is the chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers. He is a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. From 2009 to 2011,Bernstein was the chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden in the Obama administration. In 2008,Michael D. Shear described Bernstein as a progressive and "a strong advocate for workers".
Brian Christopher Deese is an American economic and political advisor who was the 13th director of the National Economic Council,serving under President Joe Biden.
Maya MacGuineas is president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. She is a frequent commentator on issues such as the federal budget,national debt,taxes,the economy,retirement policy,government reform,and health care.
Alondra Nelson is an American academic,policy advisor,non-profit administrator,and writer. She is the Harold F. Linder chair and professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study,an independent research center in Princeton,New Jersey. Since March 2023,she has been a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In October 2023,she was nominated by the Biden-Harris Administration and appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to the UN High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.
Neera Tanden is an American political consultant and government official serving as director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2023. Tanden previously served as a senior advisor and staff secretary to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023 and as president of the Center for American Progress (CAP),a center-left policy research and advocacy organization,where she worked in different capacities since its founding in 2003 until she joined the Biden administration in 2021.
C. Eugene "Gene" Steuerle is an American economist,a Richard B. Fisher chair and Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington,DC,and a columnist under the title The Government We Deserve.
Benjamin H. Harris is an American economist who is currently the Vice President and Director of the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Throughout his career,he has served in several public-service positions,most notably as the chief economist and chief economic advisor to Vice President Joe Biden from 2014 until the end of the Obama administration,and as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist of the U.S. Treasury. Harris was the executive director of the Kellogg Public-Private Initiative at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University,the Chief Economist to the evidence-based policy organization Results for America,and the founder of the economic policy consulting firm Cherrydale Strategies. He has been a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal and regularly appears on cable television to discuss macroeconomics and public policy.
Joe Biden assumed office as president of the United States on January 20,2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Damon Jones is an American economist and associate professor at the Harris School of Public Policy in the University of Chicago. Alongside his academic research,Jones is a popular science communicator and regularly provides expert commentary on issues related to economics and public policy. During the COVID-19 pandemic he investigated the disproportionate impact of coronavirus disease on communities of color,and delivered evidence on his findings before the United States House Committee on the Budget.
Michelle Holder is an American economist who is an Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the City University of New York. Her research focuses on the position of Black workers and women of color in the American labor market,including wage gaps based on race and gender as well as unemployment rate differences by race and gender. In June 2021,she was named president and CEO of The Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Holder stepped down in 2022 from the presidency and transitioned into the role of distinguished senior fellow with the organization through 2023.
Jonathan Schwabish is an economist,speaker,author,and professor at American University and Georgetown University. He is a senior fellow with the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute.
