Op-Ed: A 'Common Sense' Way to Fix Social Security

Social Security is running short on cash, fast, and two senators float a bipartisan remedy in a New York Times op-ed. Republican Bernie Moreno and Democrat Elizabeth Warren argue that it's time to change the rules on how much high earners pay into the system. In the jargon of Social Security, they want to lift the payroll tax cap, which they see as a "common-sense solution." Right now, income above $184,500 (for 2026) isn't taxed for Social Security at all, meaning most workers pay the 6.2% tax on every dollar they earn while top earners don't.

"Why should a middle-class nurse pay a larger share of her paycheck than a wealthy corporate lawyer?" they write. "This is doubly unfair in an economy in which top earners' wages, over time, have pulled far ahead of those of the average worker." The senators say taxing all wages the same would raise about $3 trillion over a decade, extend the program's life by a generation, and keep Social Security as an earned benefit that Americans across party lines still support. Read the full op-ed.