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Suddenly worried about the growing federal debt today that corporations have secured access to trillions of dollars in Covid-19 bailout funds with very little supervision, Trump management officials are reportedly considering several proposals purportedly aimed at reducing government spending — including a set of strategies that would provide Americans with cash payments in exchange for delays or reductions to their Social Security benefits.
Besides weighing a push for automatic federal spending cuts that would take effect when the economy rebounds in the coronavirus catastrophe, Washington Post reported Sunday that top White House economic officials are”researching a proposal floated by two conservative scholars who would enable Americans to choose to get checks of around $5,000 in exchange for a delay of the Social Security benefits.”
Senior administration officials also have”discussed the eagle Plan,’ a 29-page memo that called for an overhaul of national retirement plans in exchange for upfront payments to your employees,” according to the Post. “The proposal calls for giving Americans $10,000 upfront in exchange for controlling their retirement benefits, such as Social Security.”
The”Eagle Plan” was created by a State Department official close to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, who forwarded the proposal to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Art Laffer, a conservative economist, and Trump adviser told the Post he supports the proposal.
“They are calling this monstrous notion the eagle Plan’ but it needs to be known as the’Function’Til You Die Strategy,'” tweeted innovative advocacy group Social Security Works. “The only reason to support it simply sending people $2,000/month would be to undermine our Social Security system.”
Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, suggested that Trump is opposed to the ideas laid out in the”Eagle Plan” — which he described as”ludicrous on its face” — but the Post reported that the president hasn’t reviewed the proposal.
After vowing throughout his 2016 presidential run to protect Social Security and Medicare from reductions, Trump has suggested slashing both apps in his yearly budget blueprints. Trump also stated during an interview at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January that he would consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare if reelected in November.
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Amid a global pandemic that has left more than 30 million people in the U.S. jobless, Trump’s top economic stimulation notion was cutting the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare. The president stated in a Fox News town hall last week he wouldn’t sign any prospective Covid-19 stimulus package that doesn’t include a payroll tax reduction.
“Donald Trump and his government will stop at nothing to reduce Social Security,” stated Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Facts Check: True
