U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is known for encouraging Americans to fight against oligarchy, responded to the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, becoming the world’s first trillionaire on Friday, as he launched the IPO of his SpaceX corporation.
On social media, Sanders wrote: “Today, Elon Musk, a trillionaire, pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making $184,500. If we end that absurdity and lift the cap on taxable income, we can make Social Security solvent for 75 years and expand benefits by $2,400. My Social Security bill does that.”
Today, Elon Musk, a trillionaire, pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making $184,500.
If we end that absurdity and lift the cap on taxable income, we can make Social Security solvent for 75 years and expand benefits by $2,400. My Social Security bill does that.
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 12, 2026
[NOTE: The Social Security payroll tax applies to wages up to the $184,500 cap in 2026, so anyone at or above it pays the same maximum contribution. Musk’s dramatic one-day wealth increase was a prompt for Sanders’ post, though his wealth prior to the IPO was already a target for the Senator.]
Sanders’ bill, the Social Security Expansion Act, which he sponsored in February 2025, would apply the tax to earnings above $250,000 which he claims could extend solvency for about 75 years and support an average $2,400 annual benefit increase, with no tax rise for over 93% of households.
Conservatives who object to Sanders’ bill include former Charles Koch Institute economist Adam Millsap, who replied, “This is just a flat out lie. Raising the cap doesn’t make SS solvent for 75 years,” and forwarded a post by former Heritage Foundation economist Jessica Riedl, who wrote: “no, ‘eliminate the cap, problem solved’ is not correct. You still have to address benefits and the eligibility age.”
This is just a flat out lie. Raising the cap doesn’t make SS solvent for 75 years. https://t.co/IxaTad4Mue
— Adam A. Millsap (@AA_Millsap) June 12, 2026