Sometimes we forget how important Social Security benefits are to millions of Americans who use their benefits to survive, but after reviewing the latest U.S. Census Bureau’s annual poverty statistics, it has never been clearer how crucial Social Security is to Americans.
According to a recent story from Vox, of all the social safety net programs, Social Security had the largest impact in 2017. The Census Bureau reported that Social Security kept 27 million Americans above the poverty line, which was $12,060 for an individual in 2017. Other programs, aimed at keeping people out of poverty, also were very important. Refundable tax credits, like the Earned Income Credit, helped keep more than 8 million people out of poverty and food assistance contributed to keeping another 3 million people out of poverty.
Although keeping people out of poverty is important it should not be the main goal as many people who live slightly above the poverty line are struggling too. One reason, which is pointed out in the story, is that people are struggling with health care costs. In 2017 there were an additional 400,000 people who fell into poverty due to out-of-pocket medical costs.
Despite how crucial social programs like food assistance and Social Security have proven to be, Republicans, including President Donald Trump, downplayed their impact after the new Census report was issued. Basically, the president’s Council of Economic Advisers called many of the social programs a crutch.
“While absolute material hardship has declined, less success has been achieved in strengthening self-sufficiency. Employment rates of non-disabled working-age adults have been stunted, and their dependency on welfare programs has grown. It is important to ensure that welfare programs do a better job of promoting work, especially in today’s hot economy. Expanding work requirements in welfare programs can help achieve that goal,” the economic advisers wrote in their statement.
