HELENA – Congressional candidate Kathleen Williams held the first of three public forums on Social Security, Medicare and health care in Bozeman on Wednesday.
Williams, a Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Greg Gianforte in this fall’s election.
She says the forums are part of her effort to listen to voters and to create dialogue on important issues facing Congress. Wednesday’s event at the Bozeman Public Library focused on Social Security.
One of the speakers was Dan Adcock, with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare who said that the Social Security Trust is not going bankrupt – but will not be able to pay full benefits after 2034 – unless changes are made to the finances of the program.
He said one possible proposal is to increase the amount of income subject to Social Security tax. People currently don’t pay Social Security taxes on any income above $128,400.
“A CEO of a Fortune 500 company — the Honeywell Corp., who makes $48 million a year — somebody like him pays his Social Security payroll taxes by lunch on Jan. 1. But the rest of us, who earn $128,400 or less, we’re paying it all year long,” Adcock said.
Williams will hold a forum Thursday in Livingston on Medicare – and one Friday in Billings on health care.
-Mike Dennison reporting for MTN News
