The 71 publicly held firms in the coalition behind the "Fix the Debt" campaign have a combined deficit of more than $100 billion in their employee pension funds, but it hasn't stopped them from telling Congress how to fix Social Security.

If you're a wealthy CEO earning enough to make Scrooge McDuck jealous, then you're qualified.

Or at least that's what the "Fix the Debt" campaign would like lawmakers to think as its plan to rein in federal spending includes making cuts to Social Security and raising the retirement age.

The first part of their plan is a very hard sale as not many Americans like to talk about cutting Social Security benefits. So those who want to cut the program have instead settled on a less threatening argument about life expectancy.

In a recent column, Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein calls raising Social Security's age requirement a "cruel and regressive way to cut the program" and advocates for raising the age requirement for Social Security usually need the program the least.

"They don't want to retire at age 65, and they don't have short life expectancies, and they're not mainly relying on Social Security for their retirement income. They are bravely advocating a cut they'll never feel."

The best solution to addressing Social Security's shortfalls is one that would actually be felt by the 1% because it requires everyone to pay their fair share.

Americans only pay Social Security taxes on their first $110,000 of wages each year. Workers who earn more than that don't pay taxes on their additional income, nor do investors who earn money from dividends and capital gains. In other words, the top 1% of Americans finish paying into Social Security by mid-March (if they pay at all) while the overwhelming majority of us continue to pay a percentage of our paychecks into the fund all year long, year in and year out.

If lawmakers take a bold step and raise the cap on the Social Security payroll tax to make all income subject to payroll taxes, the Congressional Budget Office estimates, it would do three times as much to solve Social Security's shortfall as raising the retirement age to 70. It would raise enough revenue to close Social Security's solvency gap for 75 years and improve benefits for retirees.

It's also unlikely that "Fix the Debt" campaign members would ask lawmakers to raise the cap on Social Security as they stand to reap billions in windfalls if Congress approves one of their main proposals. But why should lawmakers take advice from CEOs who can't manage their own companies' retirement plans?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SEIU International President, Mary Kay Henry made an appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show last night after Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed the so-called "Right-to-Work" bill into law, despite the presence of more than 17,000 workers at the State Capitol building yesterday urging him not to sign. This dangerous law is an attack on Michigan's middle class and strips away rights for workers, both union and non-union. President Henry, who's also a Michigan native, called the events yesterday an "incredible day for working people."

By signing this bill, Governor Snyder has effectively decided "Michigan needs to become a low wage economy where you have to string together three jobs in order to make ends meet and eliminate the remaining middle class," said Henry.

From winning contracts that extend healthcare coverage to same-sex partners and ensure that no worker can be fired from his or her job due to sexual orientation, SEIU has a long stood on the side of community, love, fairness and family. As the first international union to endorse marriage equality, SEIU is committed to defending all workers' rights to love whomever they choose.

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear two cases challenging state and federal laws that identify marriage as a union between a man and a woman, we are reminded that the inability of same-sex couples to get equal protection and validation at the federal and state level is undoubtedly one of the greatest civil rights matters of our time.

Michigan is on the right track, but Governor Rick Snyder's failed leadership may have taken the state of Michigan off course. That's why Snyder and Republicans in Michigan quickly passed the so-called "Right-to-Work" bill through the legislature without allowing the voters an opportunity to voice their opinions.

As President Obama said in his remarks at the Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Michigan yesterday, "What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less."

Today, thousands of workers from Michigan and across the nation are gathering to participate in a Day of Action at the State Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan and we're covering all the action live on our Storify feed below.

Today we're making it impossible for Congress to ignore us. We're meeting our elected representatives at their local offices and reminding them this "fiscal cliff" debate is not just about numbers, but about working families, seniors and children.

We've captured all the action in pictures and tweets on Storify - check it out below.

Workers from across Michigan and across the nation are gearing up for a Day of Action in Lansing on Tuesday. Tomorrow, you can show support for Michigan's working families from wherever you are.

It's very simple: Wear RED on Monday, December 10, to show your support for Michigan's working families then share this photo on your Facebook wall to let your friends and family know that we're all in this together.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry penned an open letter to Governor Rick Snyder in light of his recent promise to sign the so-called "right-to-work" bill when it comes to his desk early next week.

You've heard about the "fiscal cliff," right?

Here's the deal: Our elected officials are making decisions that could impact our daily lives for years to come. Some of them are talking about doing the unspeakable: cutting services we depend on, like Medicare, Medicaid and education programs, while letting millionaires and billionaires avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Meanwhile, House Republicans are holding a tax cut for 98 percent of Americans hostage, showing us their loyalties lie with the the richest 2 percent -- not their constituents.

Watch SEIU, AFSCME and NEA's new ad about the proposed cuts to Medicare:

These are not decisions that should be made by politicians behind closed doors and without the input of real people like you and me.

On Monday, Dec. 10, we're going to make it impossible for Congress to ignore us. We're going to meet our representatives at their local offices and remind them this debate is not just about numbers, but about working families, seniors and children.

We can't allow our government to throw working and middle-class people under the bus.

Please make sure you can be there Monday so we can make our concerns heard loud and clear.

Click here to find an event in your area.

If you can't make it Monday, click here to sign up to stay looped in on future "Jobs, Not Cuts" actions.

Do you oppose cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and education in a "fiscal cliff" deal? Join us Dec. 10.

There aren't many economic issues that a clear majority of Americans agree on. One very important thing we do, however: It's time to raise income tax rates on the richest among us.

In the coming weeks, Congress will be making decisions on budget measures, services and tax increases known as the "fiscal cliff" that will have long-term effects on our economy.

In the little more than a month since the election passed, it's already become clear that many conservatives in Congress are primed to hold the American economy hostage in order to safeguard tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Representatives like Reps. John Boehner and Eric Cantor are pushing for a budget deal that includes cuts to hospital and nursing home care that Medicare and Medicaid cover, as well as Social Security, education, child care and other programs that families count on.