Social Security: Ron DeSantis Says No Cuts for Seniors — What About Younger Americans?
Written by
Vance Cariaga
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put himself squarely in the middle of the Social Security debate this month when he shifted away from previous positions by saying he would consider cutting benefits for some Americans.
In an interview last week with Fox News, DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, floated the idea of cutting benefits for future generations while keeping benefits for current seniors intact. Those comments stood in contrast to what DeSantis told Fox News in March, which was that Republicans are “not going to mess with Social Security.”
During last week’s interview, Fox News’ Howard Kurtz cited the latter comment and also referenced earlier positions DeSantis took as a congressman – including support for privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age to 70 “for future seniors down the road.”
When asked about the shift in position, DeSantis responded: “I’m a governor of Florida – of course we’re going to protect people’s Social Security…When people say that we’re going to somehow cut seniors, that is totally not true. Talking about making changes for people in their 30s and their 40s so the program’s viable — that’s a much different thing, and something I think there’s going to need to be discussions on.”
DeSantis also addressed the issue of privatization during the interview.
“What I always said was, ‘You aren’t going to be able to offer individual accounts because there’s no Social Security surplus,'” he said. “There used to be massive surpluses, and the thought was you…let people divide [it]. Now that’s gone so that is totally not on the table. We gotta make sure that we preserve it for our seniors because they totally depend on it.”
One reason DeSantis and other presidential candidates have waded into the Social Security debate is that the program’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund is expected to run out of money by 2033. When the fund is depleted, Social Security will have to rely solely on payroll taxes — and those only cover about 77% of current benefits.
Other GOP presidential candidates have proposed reforms to Social Security to help address the shortfall. They include former Vice President Mike Pence, who favors privatizing Social Security by giving younger Americans “the ability to take a portion of their Social Security withholdings and put that into a private savings account.”
The list also includes former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has proposed raising the Social Security full retirement age for workers currently in their 20s and limiting Social Security and Medicare benefits for the wealthy.
Those positions don’t align with positions taken by former President Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner.
“Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security,” Trump said in a January video. “Cut waste, fraud and abuse everywhere that we can find it, and there is plenty of it. But do not cut the benefits our seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives. Save Social Security, don’t destroy it.”
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