@JaredS
The way I understand it, it doesn't force anyone to take the loan. Which is good. It just gives you the ability to. Really this is just an advance of $5k on your future SS benefits. Where you get it now as opposed to when you retire. And then when you retire, you just go without benefits for a few months until its 'paid back'.
I mean, for everyone that has been paying into the system for years/decades already, especially if you fear SS might become insolvent before you get around to retirement age (I'm a good 40 years or so away from that, so that's a real fear of mine actually), I could see this appealing to a good portion of the population that is suffering in the here and now.
We are supposed to get SS at some point anyways, it's a forced retirement account and our money, so getting it now vs later is really just a matter of circumstance, I think.
So, I don't think its a terrible idea. Far from the best though and its certainly not helpful for those already on SS benefits or likely any other benefits for that matter. Which is a LOT of people. So for that reason alone, this is not a complete answer to say the least. But at least its budget/deficit conscious and in conjunction with an actual stimulus like we got with the CARES Act, I think might help a lot of people.
This idea isn't that different from giving people mortgage forbearance or the ability to draw more on 401ks without penalties right now. Neither of those forgive anything either, they are just ways to free up thousands, with one pushing your mortgage payments down the road, and the other very similar to the SS idea where you can draw on retirement money early.
I would be for this idea if it was paired with something more. Like another tax credit advance. $2000/month might be too expensive. The math gets crazy fast. But maybe $1000/month for 3-6 months is more doable. I do hope the Dems find a middle ground with the GOP and we get something that helps everyone, and not just subsections of the population.