Tim Walz Reminds Us of Social Security's True Purpose
It isn’t a retirement program, but an insurance program, and the return is protection, not dollars.
What is Social Security all about?
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
In a speech at the Democratic National Convention accepting the party’s nomination as vice president this week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz talked about his life before politics. He mentioned how his father died of lung cancer. “Thank God for Social Security Survivor benefits,” Walz said. In fact, Walz has often talked about how the program helped stabilize his family in those days, allowing them to “live with dignity” rather than poverty. He talked about it when he ran for governor in 2018 and on the campaign trail with current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Walz is the exact kind of politician Social Security needs at the moment. Although Social Security, which along with Medicare is one of the country's two largest entitlement programs, isn’t an issue in the 2024 elections, it’s likely to become regardless as lawmakers turn their attention from the race for the White House back to debt and deficits.