Texas congressman Sam Johnson, chairman of the Social Security subcommittee, has proposed a series of reforms that will at least partially alleviate the funding problem facing the program, which will run out of money by 2034. Of the many changes proposed is a recalculation of the inflation index that will reduce or eliminate cost-of-living increases for wealthy recipients while increasing benefits for the poor.  Significantly, the package does not include any tax increases. Washington Examiner: The bill put forward by Texas' Sam Johnson, the chairman of the subcommittee on Social Security, would reduce costs by changing the benefits formula to reduce payments progressively for high earners. It would also gradually raise the full retirement age from 67 to 69 for people who are today 49 or younger. Lastly, it would change the inflation metric used to calculate benefits to one that shows lower inflation, essentially slowing the growth in benefits, and eliminate cost...(Read Full Post)