Biggs also wants to turn Social Security from an earned benefit into a poverty-level flat benefit . That means huge cuts for middle class workers who ’ ve been paying into the program their entire lives . It would destroy Social Security ’ s political popularity by turning it into a welfare program — a sitting duck for Republicans to make even larger cuts .
If confirmed to the SSAB , Biggs would have increased influence with policymakers and the media . Biggs has a long history that shows how he would use that influence : To push for Social Security cuts that would devastate working and middle class Americans , while shielding billionaires from paying their fair share into the system .
Biggs served as an associate commissioner of Social Security under former President George W . Bush and was instrumental in Bush ’ s push to privatize Social Security . His goal was to hand the American people ’ s earned benefits over to Wall Street . Thankfully , the Bush privatization push failed due to massive grassroots opposition .
Biggs supports raising the retirement age , and has testified before Congress that people should work longer . In his words :
Go back to 1950 , when we had a highly industrialized economy . You had coal miners , and farmers , and factory workers . The average age of initial Social Security claiming then was 68 . Today , when your biggest on-the-job risk is , you know , carpal tunnel syndrome from your mouse or something like that , it ’ s 63 ... [ T ] he idea that we can ’ t have a higher retirement age , I think it just flies in the face of the fact that people did , in fact , retire later in the past , and today ’ s jobs are less physically demanding than they were in the past .
Nurses , firefighters , autoworkers , and so many others would be surprised to hear that their jobs aren ’ t physically demanding ! Biggs seems to think everyone has a cushy , billionaire-funded desk job like his , and would be happy to work until they die .
Biggs also wants to turn Social Security from an earned benefit into a poverty-level flat benefit . That means huge cuts for middle class workers who ’ ve been paying into the program their entire lives . It would destroy Social Security ’ s political popularity by turning it into a welfare program — a sitting duck for Republicans to make even larger cuts .
What Biggs doesn ’ t want is for his billionaire donors to pay their fair share into Social Security . He doesn ’ t want the American people to know that if billionaires pay into Social Security all year long on all of their income , not only can we protect Social Security — we can expand benefits .
Andrew Biggs is an enemy of Social Security , and we need to keep him off the SSAB . The Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing on the nomination this week , and the Senate may hold a vote soon . Democrats have a majority in the U . S . Senate , and they must stand united to protect Social Security from Mitch McConnell ’ s saboteur .