Senators Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum Unveil Their "Brilliant" Plan to Cut Social Security

By Daniel Marans

Created 04/13/2011 - 11:26am

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Appearing on Fox News this morning [1], Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) acted like their plan to means-test Social Security and raise the retirement age was the most genius thing since sliced bread. But however attractive these options may at first seem, means testing and raising the retirement age are very bad policy. Click here [2] for a comprehensive take-down of raising the retirement age, and here [3] for a rebuttal of means-testing.

Let's start with raising the retirement age [4], the perennial favorite of would-be Social Security reformers. First, it is a big, across-the-board benefit cut, regardless of whether you claim benefits at 62 or 70. Raising the retirement age two years, from 67 to 69, amounts to a 13% cut in benefits [5], according to the SSA. (Graham, Paul and Lee And keep in mind the full retirement age is still in the process of going up to 67 from changes made in the 80s. How many people even know that the full retirement age is 67, not 65, for people born after 1960?