Washington, D.C. — Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, will join Center for American Progress Executive Vice President for Policy Carmel Martin for a press conference call on Tuesday, February 10, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. ET to unveil a new CAP analysis showing how rising income inequality has jeopardized the solvency of the Social Security trust funds and poses a threat to their long-term financial health.
While conservatives in Washington have wrongly sought to blame Social Security for the nation’s fiscal problems–as well as unfairly stigmatize the Social Security Disability Insurance program–CAP’s new analysis will demonstrate how stagnant and declining wages for working families, compounded by the upward redistribution of income and a growing share of wages exempt from the payroll tax, have taken a significant toll on the Social Security trust funds. On the call, Sen. Casey and Martin will discuss the findings of CAP’s new issue brief, which will reveal how much larger the trust funds would be had the average worker’s wages kept pace with productivity gains over the past three decades. CAP’s analysis will also show how much larger the trust funds would be had the maximum taxable wage base remained fixed at 90 percent of earnings over the same time period.
WHO:
Sen. Bob Casey, Member, Senate Finance Committee
Carmel Martin, Executive Vice President for Policy, Center for American Progress
WHAT:
Press conference call to unveil the findings of a new CAP issue brief on income inequality and the Social Security trust funds
WHEN:
Tuesday, February 10, 2015, at 3:00 PM ET
TO RSVP:
Contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331 to receive the dial-in information.
To schedule an interview with Sen. Casey, contact John Rizzo at [email protected] or 202.228.6367. To schedule an interview with Carmel Martin or other CAP experts, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.
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