The good news for Joe Biden is that he still has his lucid moments. The bad news is that what comes out of his mouth during these rare moments of clarity is still frequently gibberish.
Here he is telling a crowd that “the Social Security actuary, the guy who runs it, says the plan like Donald Trump says he wants to institute if he gets reelected, says will bankrupt Social Security by 2023. As my wife would say, ‘Google it.'”
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
As his wife says? Does he think the suggestion to “Google” something is her personal innovation?
Anyway, I took “Dr.” Jill’s advice and Googled it. Here is what I found.
Via NBC News:
The Biden campaign has cited a letter by the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary that said that permanently eliminating all payroll taxes without a replacement would deplete the Social Security trust fund by 2023. But this is not Trump’s current position and the same letter noted that if Congress mandated the cost of the tax cuts come out of the general fund, as Trump has suggested, then benefits would be “essentially unaffected.”
…
Another important thing to keep in mind: There’s no scenario in which Trump could make any permanent changes to the tax system without the OK of Congress.
Shorter NBC News: Biden’s claim is wrong.
Fact checkers at Newsweek agree with that assessment. In an article titled “Fact Check: Does Trump Want to Get Rid of Social Security Like Biden Said?” the news magazine states:
While Trump and the White House made conflicting statements about Social Security and payroll tax deferrals, the president never proposed eliminating them entirely.
Trump would need approval from Congress to make any permanent changes to the tax system in the U.S.
Finally FactCheck.org titles its lengthy take “Biden’s False Attacks on Trump’s Social Security ‘Plan’.” [Emphasis added]
Maybe Biden should go back to mumbling.
(h/t Weasel Zippers)
