Alliance Executive Director Testifies in Front of the Fiscal Commission
On Wednesday, Alliance Executive Director Edward F. Coyle testified in front of the president’s Fiscal Commission, which is charged with addressing the nation’s national debt. Coyle conveyed to the committee’s board members that retirees are deeply disturbed by the talk coming out of the Commission of cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) had said earlier this week that if the Republicans were to win control of the U.S. House, the party would try to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 as part of a fiscal reform plan. “John Boehner’s call to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 is not only deeply hurtful and insensitive to workers, but also reflects a dangerously flawed misunderstanding of how Social Security is financed and operates,” Coyle told the Commission. In response to critics who blame Social Security for America’s budget deficit, Coyle challenged them to find a federal program that functions as efficiently as Social Security. Coyle proposed raising the payroll tax cap for the wealthiest Americans in order to further strengthen Social Security’s financial structure.
