DeSantis Hints at Future Social Security Changes...Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) raised Social Security and Medicare to nearly the top of the GOP’s priority checklist

 

DeSantis Hints at Future Social Security Changes

(RepublicanReport.org) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) raised Social Security and Medicare to nearly the top of the GOP’s priority checklist with claims that the entitlement programs would need to undergo changes sooner rather than later to survive. His stance has pitted him against former President Donald Trump, who’s repeatedly promised to leave seniors — both present and future — alone with his administration’s policies.

DeSantis reiterated his stance on Sunday, July 16, when he joined Fox News’ Howard Kurtz on Media Buzz to discuss his campaign. Drawing upon his deceased grandmother, who depended on Social Security until she died at 91 years old, as an example, DeSantis denounced the notion that he would do anything to jeopardize seniors. Instead, he insisted he would work toward changes that would affect how younger people collected benefits, adding that the action would be necessary to keep the program available to future generations.

According to the Social Security Administration, over 53 million seniors currently receive benefits. Nearly 12 million disabled people under 65 also receive monthly payments. The “social insurance” program has been active for 89 years, but spending changes have led to an exhaustion of its trust fund reserves. As Social Security currently stands, it can only guarantee recipients full benefits until 2037, at which point the administration will only have enough money to distribute about 76% of expected payments. DeSantis and others concerned with this grim reality feel the time to tackle the issue is now. Social Security has become a heated issue within the GOP’s top-running presidential hopefuls. While Trump has vowed to leave recipients’ payments alone, CNBC reports that his former vice president, Mike Pence, has promised to gut it and Medicare if he earns his seat in the Oval Office. The former second-in-command has also slammed DeSantis’ reform proposals, insisting that the program’s “runaway spending” will “crush the future” if overhauls don’t occur soon.