Dear Editor,

I am concerned about the fast-approaching federal “debt ceiling” crisis.

For the first time in almost a century, Social Security checks might not go out next month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s caucus is planning to hold a vote on a 320-page bill to indiscriminately slash federal spending. This bill includes a 22% cut for the Social Security Administration that would force office closures and longer wait times for benefits. They also plan to raise the retirement age to 70.

Independent studies have shown that every year that the Social Security retirement age goes up is effectively a 7% benefit cut. If the full retirement age goes from 67 (where it is now) to 70 (where two-thirds of House Republicans want to raise it), that’s a 21% benefit cut. They plan to pair that with reduced benefits over time, making for an even bigger cut. Republicans at all levels have started pushing plans to raise the retirement age.

Entitlement reformers are planning to resurrect the “TRUST Act” and use it to exact severe cuts to our earned benefits in exchange for allowing our government to fulfill its financial obligations. This proposal has bipartisan support from the House.

This is an ongoing scenario with a standoff between the parties. Republicans plan to hold the debt ceiling hostage to force Social Security cuts — even though Social Security cannot by law contribute to or even add a penny to the deficit.

It’s ironic that the debt ceiling increased three times under Donald Trump and there was no holding the economy hostage nor was there any drama involved.

A default would ripple through the global financial system, setting off a likely recession (if not depression), causing the U.S. government to be unable to meet some payments, including missing payments on Social Security checks for the first time in the program’s nearly 100 years of existence.

Our Social Security money that we paid into and doesn’t add a penny to the national debt needs to be left alone. We need to take a stand and tell our elected officials to quit threatening to cut money that we paid into and are entitled to receive as we age.

Frank Papini

President USW

Steelworker Organization Of Active Retirees Chapter 23-9

Martins Ferry