The Senate is ready to raid the figurative emergency rainy day fund again. As we highlighted in a recent Debt Digest, Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D‑WA) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R‑ME) have reportedly struck a deal to increase fiscal year (FY) 2025 discretionary spending by $34.5 billion by designating some ordinary spending as emergency funding.

Despite their significant policy differences, when it comes to Social Security both leading presidential candidates see eye to eye. Trump and Biden have both vowed not to cut Social Security. While these pledges may resonate with politically powerful voters, a “do-nothing” approach to Social Security that avoids necessary structural reforms and instead promises to preserve benefits at current levels, comes at a high cost for younger generations.

When it comes to government provision of retirement benefits, differences abound. Comparing the US Social Security program to the UK state pension illustrates a stark contrast. While both countries promise an old‐age safety net, the US Social Security benefit for the highest‐income earners looks more like a golden parachute than what President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to as “some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family … against poverty‐ridden old age.”