Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 07/2008

Barack Obama's Social Security Donut Hole

Andrew G. Biggs

March 2008

American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

Abstract

Until recently, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was surprisingly responsible regarding Social Security, noting the urgency of reform and saying all options should be on the table. But having cornered himself with Democratic activists whose attitudes toward Social Security reform range from demagoguery to denial, his solution to the system's problems has veered leftward. He now plans to fix Social Security exclusively with higher taxes. The new Obama plan would not only fail to resolve the system's long-term problems, but would also impose significant costs on the economy as a whole.