Can Bernie Sanders really boost your Social Security check by $2,400?
Bernie Sanders is taking advantage of the Democrats' sweep of Congress to tout his plan to save, and even boost, Social Security benefits. The independent senator from Vermont who frequently caucuses with Democrats will take the helm in January as the Senate's Social Security subcommittee chair. As the new chair, he posted on X last week he'll not only fully fund the trust fund that supplements payroll taxes to pay Social Security benefits, but increase individual benefits by at least $2,400 annually. And he'll do this for 75 years. "How?" he wrote. "By scrapping the cap & demanding that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes." Eliminating or raising the wage cap that dictates how much income is subject to the payroll tax isn't a new idea , but adding increased payouts to the mix is. And all of it is proving controversial. "Eliminating the payroll tax cap wouldn’t even cover the benefits Congress has already promised, let alone fund an expansion,” said Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at libertarian think tank Cato Institute. “Sanders’s full plan goes much further, adding substantial taxes on investment and business income. His plan is essentially robbing Peter to pay
