But Mulvaney hasn't been trying to get millionaires to pay their fair share for Social Security. Instead, he's been busy trying to cut benefits for everyone else, saying, "You have to raise the retirement age, lower a pay-out, change the reimbursement system."
Mulvaney supports raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 (it's already scheduled to rise to 67 from 65), a position he reiterated in his recent Senate testimony.
Millionaires, on the other hand, should be happy with Mulvaney's ideology. He insists that additional tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy will generate economic growth and greater tax revenues -- an idea that most economists agree has been conclusively disproved by the experience of recent decades.
Between the end of their payroll taxes for the year, and Mulvaney's possible confirmation, Thursday could turn out to be an especially pleasant day for millionaires.
Financial Illiteracy
As OMB Director, it would be Mulvaney's responsibility to explain the financial implications of budget choices to the president. That makes Mulvaney's habit of describing Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" especially disturbing. It reveals a basic lack of financial literacy.
The term "Ponzi scheme" has a clear definition, one that bears no relationship to social insurance programs like Social Security. Mulvaney's insistence on using the term "also reveals a deep hostility to Social Security, which should worry every American.
Mulvaney also said "we will never, ever balance the budget until we change entitlements." ("Entitlements" is a preferred Republican term for Medicare and Social Security, presumably because it subtly conveys a sense of unearned privilege. More on that subject here.)
This statement also betrays a certain lack of fiscal knowledge, since Social Security is forbidden by law from contributing to federal deficits.
Tough on Seniors, Even Tougher on Senior Women
Social Security benefits are low by international standards, which means that the benefit cuts Mulvaney backs would be a blow for many of the seniors, disabled, and children who receive its benefits.
Social Security currently pays an average of $17,106 to men, and $13,150 to women, over the age of 65. Benefit cuts, especially when combined with cuts to Medicare, would hit seniors hard. They would be especially hard on women, since they already receive less in benefits than men.
But then, women's health doesn't seem to be a concern for Mulvaney either. In 2015, he led a revolt against the Republican leadership in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, even though none of its federal funding is used to pay for abortions. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded that Mulvaney's anti-Planned Parenthood effort would have cost the government $130 million over 10 years had it been successful.
For this self-proclaimed deficit hawk, it looks like ideology trumps thrift.
Hypocrisy on the Home Front
Social Security already operates much more cost-effectively than private sector retirement programs, spending less than 1 percent of its total budget on administrative costs. But Mick Mulvaney, like many other Congressional Republicans, has voted to keep cutting its administrative budget year after year.
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