President George W. Bush made the privatization of Social Security a cornerstone of his domestic agenda following his 2004 reelection. Starting in 2005, he strongly promoted "personal accounts" that would allow younger workers to invest a portion of their payroll taxes in stocks and bonds. However, the proposal failed due to strong public opposition and lack of congressional support.
Bush financed income tax cuts and the Iraq war by plundering money from Social Security.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the President signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Senator Collins attended the bill signing ceremony at the invitation of the White House.
President Reagan signed major bipartisan Social Security reforms in 1983, primarily to address funding shortfalls, which included making some benefits taxable, gradually raising the full retirement age to 67, and accelerating payroll tax increases; he also signed legislation restoring minimum benefits and increasing penalties for misuse of Social Security numbers.
HEW reorganization plan published in Federal Register, creating the Health Care Financing Administration to manage the Medicare program. President Carter signed the Social Security Amendments of 1980. Major provisions involved greater work incentives for disabled Social Security and SSI beneficiaries.
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) significantly expanded Social Security by signing the landmark 1965 Amendments, creating Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor, and boosting benefits; he also reorganized the Social Security Administration (SSA) and controversially moved its finances "on-budget," though he didn't steal funds, but rather shifted accounting to disguise war-related deficits.
In 1983, Congress increased the full retirement age (FRA) from 65 to 67, a change phased in over the course of 33 years. For individuals who reach age 62 in 2022 or later, the FRA is now static at age 67.
Meanwhile, the tax rate reduction reduced the tax payments of middle class and poor taxpayers. The net effect was a marked shift in the tax burden toward the top 1 percent amounting to about 10 percentage points. Lower top marginal tax rates had encouraged these taxpayers to generate more taxable income.
President Ronald Reagan stated in October 1984: "Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit... Social Security is totally funded by the payroll tax levied on employer and employee. If you reduce the outgo of Social Security that money would not go into the general fund to reduce the deficit.
On January 5, 2025, President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, legislation that will repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
Your Social Security benefit could increase significantly under the Social Security Fairness Act, depending on your work history, with estimates showing average boosts of around $360/month (WEP-affected) to $1,190/month (GPO-affected), plus retroactive lump-sum payments back to January 2024, as the Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) for many public servants. The exact amount varies, from small increases to over $1,000 monthly, impacting those with non-Social Security pensions, and you should receive a notice from the SSA.
After a Conference which lasted throughout July, the bill was finally passed and sent to President Roosevelt for his signature. The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt on August 14, 1935.
According to a 2003 Treasury study, the tax cuts in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 resulted in a significant decline in revenue relative to a baseline without the cuts, approximately $111 billion (in 1992 dollars) on average during the first four years after implementation or nearly 3% GDP annually.
In a 2020 research paper, economists David Hope and Julian Limberg analyzed data spanning 50 years from 18 countries, and found that tax cuts for the rich increased inequality in the short and medium term, and had no significant effect on real GDP per capita or employment in the short and medium term.
In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected and promised to cut the top marginal tax rate. This he did, and the top marginal tax rate was lowered over his 8 years in office from 73% to 28% on incomes over just $29,750 - the lowest this rate had been since 1925.
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act — a monumental legislative achievement that protects our seniors, uplifts our citizens, and sustains the livelihoods of hardworking Americans who devoted their professions to bettering our country.
The extra $144 added to Social Security usually comes from the Medicare Part B Giveback benefit, offered by some Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, which pays back some or all your Part B premium, showing up as extra money in your check if it's deducted from your Social Security. To qualify, you need Original Medicare (Parts A & B), pay your own Part B premium, live in a plan's service area, and enroll in a specific Medicare Advantage plan that offers this "rebate," with the amount varying by plan and location.
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law legislation that established the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
A3. The taxation of Social Security began in 1984 following passage of a set of Amendments in 1983, which were signed into law by President Reagan in April 1983. These amendments passed the Congress in 1983 on an overwhelmingly bi-partisan vote.