Taxing high earners to help fund Social Security gains bipartisan attention — what it could mean for benefits

As Social Security faces a funding shortfall, some lawmakers have renewed calls to raise taxes on high earners to help shore up the program. Proponents of the strategy, who until recently have all been Democrats, now include several Republicans. In June, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio teamed up with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to pen an op-ed in The New York Times that called lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap a "common-sense solution." Republican Reps. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania also recently said in separate interviews that they would consider raising payroll taxes to help fund the program.