Reply #202: it constitutes right-wing talking points because it is.

[Hannah Bell]

1. SS tax rates were deliberately raised in 1983 in order to produce a steadily growing surplus. The talking point was: The boomers can prefund their own benefits & not put a burden on the next generation. These surplus collections = the TF.

2. A 2% increase in SS taxes would cover the entire cost of future benefits -- even under the conservative assumptions of the SS Trustees.

3. However, rescinding the Bush tax cuts on the top 2% would pay off the entire TF, so there's no need to raise SS taxes.

Anything that styles SS as "welfare" or suggests there is a funding problem that requires structural asjustments to the program or benefit reductions = right-wing talking points.