U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly recently said, “Doing nothing would be the greatest sin of all” regarding Social Security. On that point, we agree.

The problem is Kelly has spent 15 years in Washington — including on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Social Security — and the program's financial challenges have only grown. His answer now? Telling retirees to make “hard choices.” In a recent Tribune-Review interview, Kelly asked: “Are you still going to need the big house that you had when the kids were living with you? Do you need two cars, or can you get by with one?”

Social Security trustees warn the retirement trust fund could be depleted by 2032, triggering a 22% benefit cut. For Butler County seniors, Social Security isn't a bonus; it pays for groceries, prescriptions and housing.

The fix most Americans already support: eliminate the payroll tax cap, currently $184,500. Right now, millionaires stop contributing to Social Security before February while working people pay in every single paycheck. Sixty-eight percent of Americans — across party lines — support ending that, according to a survey backed by AARP and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Kelly has had 15 years to fight for that solution. He didn't.

I'm running for Congress because I've spent my career fixing complex systems. Social Security isn't broken beyond repair. It's been failed by people who had the power to act and chose not to. Butler County seniors earned these benefits. They deserve solutions, not advice about downsizing their lives.

Justin Wagner,

Mercer