Former State Senator Joe Bolkcom served on the Senate Ways and Means Committee for 24 years, including ten years as chair. This piece first appeared in the Prairie Progressive.

For nearly a century, Social Security has provided life-sustaining economic security to millions of Iowa families. But that guarantee is now under serious threat. In just eight short years, the Social Security Administration projects a 23 percent cut in monthly benefits unless Congress and the president act to fix the system—a problem experts have warned about for decades.

The good news? There are pragmatic, responsible solutions to keep Social Security solvent for generations to come. The bad news? Social Security is barreling toward insolvency. Congress—currently controlled by Republicans—is mired in chaos and dysfunction, unable or unwilling to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, let alone fix Social Security.

Social Security is funded by payroll taxes paid by workers. But only wages up to a certain amount are taxed. In 2025, that cap will be $176,100. Every dollar earned above that amount is exempt from Social Security taxes.

That cap is outdated and unfair. One obvious and necessary fix is to raise it—or eliminate the cap entirely for the highest earners. Another option would be to tax investment income for wealthy taxpayers, who now contribute nothing to Social Security from their investment gains. The IRS estimates that U.S. millionaires and billionaires fail to pay roughly $150 billion every year in taxes they owe. Applying the rule of law to these wealthy, free loading tax cheats could help strengthen Social Security.

Some argue for the opposite approach: cutting benefits. Their proposals include raising the retirement age (again), reducing payments for higher-income retirees, or slashing the benefits Americans have already earned and are now receiving or will receive in the future.

An estimated 701,000 Iowans—including children, people with disabilities, and 547,000 retirees—rely on their monthly Social Security checks. The average monthly benefit is $1,865. Those payments pump $1.3 billion each month into Iowa’s economy. A 23 percent cut in 2033 would slash more than $5,000 a year from each retiree’s income and result in a loss of $3.6 billion annually to the Iowa economy.

Let’s be clear: cutting benefits would push millions into poverty, destabilize families, and create a bleak future. Picture your parents or grandparents forced to move in with you because their checks no longer cover rent, household expenses, medical care, or food. Without new revenue or deep benefit cuts, the system will eventually buckle. That looks like the current plan—inaction as slow-motion destruction.

Many Americans believe Social Security is too sacred for politicians to jeopardize. But if the past ten months have taught us anything, it’s that absolutely nothing is sacred anymore. 

Under initiatives like Project 2025 and DOGE, Republicans beholden to their billionaire oligarchs have vocally and aggressively embraced efforts to dramatically shrink the federal government’s role in supporting many vital programs that ordinary Americans depend on. Social Security appears on the chopping block next.

Our Iowa Republican Congressional delegation—Zach Nunn (IA-03), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01, Randy Feenstra (IA-04), and Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst—has proposed zero reforms to save and strengthen Social Security. They refuse to consider any new revenue, period. Don’t take my word for it—ask them.

Democrats, for their part, know the math. Fixing Social Security requires more revenue. But too many politicians (and their timid consultants) are afraid to say it out loud, fearing nasty Republican attacks at even the mention of a tax increase for wealthy Americans.

No one is coming to save Social Security unless we make them. Without a storm of activism—from MAGA, Democrats, independents, and Republicans—Congress will continue to stall while the clock runs out. By failing to tackle Social Security reforms, policymakers are implicitly endorsing deep across-the-board cuts for current and future beneficiaries. With each year policy makers delay reform, options grow fewer and abrupt cuts to benefits become more likely. Americans deserve and need time to adjust to any changes that might come.

Social Security needs champions! People who are not afraid to speak the truth about long-term solutions. Who will step up and meet this challenge?

Social Security must be a top issue—not in 2033, not in 2028, but now. From now through the 2026 midterm elections, every federal candidate seeking our votes must answer two simple questions:

What specific ideas do you support to fix Social Security? Will you make fixing Social Security now and for generations to come an urgent priority?