Saturday, December 10, 2016

How to Fund Social Security Without Cutting Benefits - Close the Loophole

It pains me, as a 64 year old fully working American not on Social Security to see that Republicans want to cut Social Security benefits. People like me have been paying Social Security taxes for 50 years or more.

What these politicians don't tell Americans is that people with higher incomes pay proportionally less tax than lower income Americans. Americans earning more than $118,500 in 2016 stop paying Social Security taxes on income over that amount. Plenty of Americans earn more than $118,500, some as much as millions of dollars. We could use those additional tax dollars, without increasing maximum benefits.

I do not understand why taxing Americans on all of their earned income never comes up. Oh right, I forgot, we can't tax the rich because ... why?  The thought of millions of Americans dependent on Social Security getting screwed is distressing. I guess these particular Republican Congressmen, with their government pensions and salaries and health care, funded by taxpayers, really don't care about the rest of us.

4 comments:

  1. I am your same age and I discovered that because I have saved my money and prepared for retirement by investing that now at age 65 (in 45 days) I get to pay more for my Medicare plans and for my Prescription drugs. Not because I am different than you but because I have savings and income besides Social Security in retirement. I get sick and tired of people like you that say "tax the rich" and stuff like that. The top 5% of income earners pay a lower rate BUT they collectively pay more dollars into the IRS than the remaining 95%. So put that fact in your pipe and smoke it. I paid the maximum amounts for over thirty years and I deserve the same benefits you do.

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    Replies
    1. I am in the same boat as you, so get off your high horse. I just want to help people who do not have the same opportunities.

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  2. Social security is a retirement plan. Not welfare. Thus, what you put in, you get out.

    However, it is already weighed to advantage lower income workers.
    A low wage earner who makes about $20,000 a year will receive about $11,120 annually in SSA benefits, about 53 percent of their earnings.
    A wage earner who always earned the “maximum” taxable amount ($118,500) will get benefits of about $30,000 a year, about 26 percent of their income.

    So a couple of thoughts;
    1) SSA taxes (FICA) are only paid on wage income –not taxable income.
    2) There are less than 500,000 individuals in the US with annual wage income over $1 million.
    3) Do you want millionaires to get their SSA checks based on their earnings’ as you will? If so, if one’s average income is $1 million annually, their SSA benefit will be $260,000 a year.

    You good with that?

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  3. Social Security will never run out of funds while workers pay in advance for their own retirement benefits. And even now, with no changes, Social Security will continue to pay 80% of scheduled benefits. However you need to keep in mind that this is 80% of REAL scheduled benefits, which have grown 25% in REAL value. Thus EVERY GOP plan to "fix" SS is always theft.

    However, if you're serious about 'fixing' SS, here's a simple plan: Increase payroll contributions by .10% per year for twenty years for each worker/employer.

    That alone would take care of the 'insolvency' issue.

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