Ignore all confusing rhetoric. In the end, one candidate really wants to raise taxes, and one wants to cut benefits. Guess which is which. 

In case you’re feeling a bit confused about how exactly the Obama and Romney campaigns differ on their plans for Social Security, don’t worry: it’s probably just a sign you’ve been paying attention during the debates.

During his low-wattage performance in Denver, the president chagrined his supporters by suggesting that he and Romney would take similar approaches to keeping Social Security solvent. The campaign quickly began walking that statement back, and by last night, Joe Biden was railing against the GOP ticket for supporting the Bush administration’s plan to privatize the program. Paul Ryan demurred, arguing that Romney just wanted to curtail retirement payments for higher earners.

Now feel free to forget most of that. Here’s what appears to be the actual divide, made simple: Obama wants to raise taxes in order to keep Social Security afloat while reducing some benefits. Romney doesn’t want to raise taxes, which means he would have to cut more benefits. Sounds familiar, no?

Social Security is expected to tumble into insolvency by 2033. The program already sends more to beneficiaries than it takes in via payroll taxes, but for the time being, the Treasury is covering the deficit by paying back money it borrowed from the program. When those funds run dry in two decades, we’ll be dealing with a serious shortfall.

Neither Romney nor Obama has released a detailed plan for fixing this problem. But they’ve each said enough to give us a rough sketch of their intentions.

The Real Difference Between Romney and Obama on Social Security – Jordan Weissmann – The Atlantic.