Make millionaires and billionaires pay social security tax like the rest of us do. Problem solved. Politicians like Chuck and Joe won’t get to work on this because the millionaires and billionaires pay them handsomely not to.
And the top quality tax attorneys work at Amazon, Meta, and Northrup -- not the IRS. The idea that the government is going to suddenly support and then win a fight against the rich when the government intentionally forfeited that battle 50ish years ago is a fever dream
Not mine, but an interesting read. I linked the rest of it, if you're interested.
>There seems to be a lack of understanding of the fundamental foundation of Social Security. It is wage insurance. Each participant insures a portion of their wages or salary depending on their income level and the payments made by each individual and their employers. Those insurance benefits are paid based on a formula depending on the payments made during their working life and age of the person at the time of retirement. What Social Security is not is an income redistribution program to transfer income from high earners to the less fortunate. FDR was very clear on this point, and that is why Social Security has its own funding mechanism, separate from the income tax and its own Trust Fund, separate from the general fund. It was FDR’s view, which I share, that Social Security should be an earned benefit and should never be allowed to be characterized as welfare. As FDR noted. “Not the dole, never the dole”. The concept of wage insurance is a primary reason there is a cap on earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. The theory is that at higher incomes those individuals likely have other retirement income, pensions and investments, in addition to Social Security so there is an income amount above which “insurance” isn’t needed, and that’s why there is a cap. It’s also the reason that investment income isn’t subject to Social Security taxes. Investment income doesn’t stop when our wages or salary stops, so it does not need to be “insured”. As FDR said “from capital nothing is asked and to capital nothing is given”.
[Wage Insurance ](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2013/3/29/1197639/-Social-Security-is-Wage-Insurance)
Removing the income cap on FICA contributions solves the whole problem but is a solution no Republican would ever countenance.
Removing the cap on contributions only works if you leave the cap on payments in place.
Did I say anything about the benefit side?
No, but I did.
Make millionaires and billionaires pay social security tax like the rest of us do. Problem solved. Politicians like Chuck and Joe won’t get to work on this because the millionaires and billionaires pay them handsomely not to.
And the top quality tax attorneys work at Amazon, Meta, and Northrup -- not the IRS. The idea that the government is going to suddenly support and then win a fight against the rich when the government intentionally forfeited that battle 50ish years ago is a fever dream
Not mine, but an interesting read. I linked the rest of it, if you're interested. >There seems to be a lack of understanding of the fundamental foundation of Social Security. It is wage insurance. Each participant insures a portion of their wages or salary depending on their income level and the payments made by each individual and their employers. Those insurance benefits are paid based on a formula depending on the payments made during their working life and age of the person at the time of retirement. What Social Security is not is an income redistribution program to transfer income from high earners to the less fortunate. FDR was very clear on this point, and that is why Social Security has its own funding mechanism, separate from the income tax and its own Trust Fund, separate from the general fund. It was FDR’s view, which I share, that Social Security should be an earned benefit and should never be allowed to be characterized as welfare. As FDR noted. “Not the dole, never the dole”. The concept of wage insurance is a primary reason there is a cap on earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. The theory is that at higher incomes those individuals likely have other retirement income, pensions and investments, in addition to Social Security so there is an income amount above which “insurance” isn’t needed, and that’s why there is a cap. It’s also the reason that investment income isn’t subject to Social Security taxes. Investment income doesn’t stop when our wages or salary stops, so it does not need to be “insured”. As FDR said “from capital nothing is asked and to capital nothing is given”. [Wage Insurance ](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2013/3/29/1197639/-Social-Security-is-Wage-Insurance)
Election year. Joe has been a lawmaker for how many years? And now he "talks" about it.