Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Sen. from Utah, has long been known for his fiscal conservatism and tax cuts. But in a column on Friday new york timeshe changed his stance and called for higher taxes on wealthy Americans like himself to address the looming national debt crisis and prevent the collapse of the Social Security system.
Romney said that according to CRFB projections, the United States will head toward an economic cliff with the Social Security Trust Fund going bankrupt in 2034. Without congressional intervention, benefits would be cut by about 23%, forcing the government to borrow trillions of dollars at potentially exorbitant interest rates or print money, triggering hyperinflation.
“Today, all of us, including our grandmothers, are literally heading towards a cliff,” he warned. “Typically, Democrats insist on raising taxes and Republicans insist on lower spending. But given the size of our national debt and the proximity of the cliff, both are necessary.”
The U.S. national debt has swelled to more than $38 trillion; it will increase by approximately $1.8 trillion in 2025 alone. Last year, debt interest payments exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, exceeding spending on Medicare and defense. Over the next decade, annual debt service costs are expected to climb to $1.8 trillion.
“DOGE took a slash-and-burn approach to budget cuts and failed miserably,” Romney wrote. In fact, a report from the Yale Budget Lab earlier this year said DOGE could cost the government more than it saves.
Most of Romney’s columns have focused on tax proposals targeting high earners. He reversed his longstanding opposition to raising the payroll tax income cap, which is currently $176,100.
“I have long opposed raising the income level to which FICA employment taxes apply (this year it is capped at $176,100). That is no longer the case; the consequences of the cliff have changed my mind,” he explained.
The 78-year-old former presidential candidate has also called for the closure of what he calls tax “holes” that benefit billionaires. He specifically pointed to increases in base reserves, which allow heirs to large estates to avoid capital gains taxes on inherited assets. Romney cited Tesla CEO Elon Musk as an example of why this loophole should be eliminated for properties worth more than $100 million.
“If he originally purchased Tesla stock for $1 billion and held it until his death, if the shares were worth $500 billion at that time, he would never have to pay the 24% federal capital gains tax on that $499 billion in profits,” he said. “Why? Because under the tax code, capital gains are not taxed at death. A provision in the tax code known as the “basis step-up” means that when Mr. Musk’s heirs receive his shares, they will be treated as if they had acquired his shares for $50,000. billion in stocks. So no one ever paid taxes on the $499 billion in capital gains.”
