Martin O'Malley releases Social Security plan, the makings of a good Democratic platform plank

We have the makings of a plank in the 2016 Democratic platform to expand Social Security with a plan released Friday by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-MD). He joins Sen. Bernie Sanders in proposing Social Security enhancements that will put the program on sound footing for the wave of Baby Boomer retirements, and make sure that the benefits from the program are adequate for the big chunk of people who have no other investments to rely upon in retirement. In the memo, the campaign writes:

Our government must do more to improve the economic and retirement security of all Americans. That is why Governor O'Malley has set a national goal of increasing the number of Americans with adequate retirement savings by 50 percent within two terms in office.

As the first and most important step toward meeting that goal, Governor O’Malley will expand Social Security benefits—not reduce them or undermine Social Security in any other way. Second, O’Malley will also make it easier for private-sector workers to invest in their retirement. He will put commonsense protections in place to prevent older Americans from losing the savings they already have. And to ensure that all families can afford to save for retirement in the first place, O'Malley will continue to put forward detailed policies to raise the wages of all workers.

O'Malley's plan, like Sanders', boosts monthly benefits for retirees, "increasing the special minimum social security benefit to 125 percent of the poverty line for Americans who have worked at least 30 years." His plan would adjust the "bend points"—the earnings levels where benefits percentages change—in the formula to give minimum-wage and lower- and middle-income workers more financial security. He would also change the cost of living formula used to calculate increases to use the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly which provides a more accurate reflection of the higher cost of living for retirees because it emphasizes the things seniors spend more than wage-earners on, like health care.

His plan includes "caregiver credits" for people who leave the workforce for up to five years to take care of dependents. This is a key element for boosting the benefits of women, who are more likely to face poverty in retirement because they have lower earnings and thus lower benefits. He adds some other retirement ideas, like requiring employers with more than 10 employees to have an IRA contribution for their staff and enforcing and strengthening regulations designed to protect seniors from financial fraud increasing penalties for financial advisers who "put their own bottom lines before helping their clients."

O'Malley emphasizes in his plan how other policy positions—including raising the minimum wage and comprehensive immigration reform—will strengthen Social Security by pumping more money into the system. Like Sanders, he would raise the payroll tax cap on income over $250,000 but unlike Sanders, doesn't include unearned income over $250,000 in the calculation—Sanders applies the 6.2 percent tax to capital gains as well as earnings.

Between Sanders and O'Malley, a solid plan for strengthening and expanding Social Security has emerged. Hillary Clinton is working her way there, but it's time that she fully embraced the ideas. Almost the entire Republican slate of presidential candidates wants to cut Social Security, so there really couldn't be a better opportunity for Democrats to provide some contrast and to erode the GOP's support among seniors. It also has the advantage of being the right thing to do for American workers.