Post by redwolf on Oct 23, 2008 10:49:09 GMT -6
I didn't know this until I heard Michael Moore speak about it this weekend on C-SPAN.
Anyone who makes over $102,000/yr. is exempt from the same Social Security tax all earners under that income pay (6.2%). They receive full benefits, but don't pay in at all. According to Moore, if those above that level of income were taxed the same amount as most Americans, then the Social Security fund would be solvent for the next 75 years.
Wikipedia backs up the first claim:
"Critics, such as libertarian Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman, say that Social Security redistributes wealth from the poor to the wealthy. Workers must pay 12.4%, including a 6.2% employer contribution, on their wages below the Social Security Wage Base ($102,000 in 2008), but no tax on income in excess of this amount. Therefore, high earners pay a lower percentage of their total income because of the income caps; because of this, payroll taxes are often viewed as being regressive. Furthermore, wealthier individuals generally have higher life expectancies and thus may expect to receive larger benefits for a longer period than poorer taxpayers. A single individual who dies before age 62, who is more likely to be poor, receives no retirement benefits despite his years of paying Social Security tax. On the other hand, an individual who lives to age 100, who is more likely to be wealthy, is guaranteed payments that are more than he paid into the system."
This is an outrage and you never hear anyone in the MSM or on the stump talk about it. This is just another way the wealth is spread in this country ... to the wealthy.
Anyone who makes over $102,000/yr. is exempt from the same Social Security tax all earners under that income pay (6.2%). They receive full benefits, but don't pay in at all. According to Moore, if those above that level of income were taxed the same amount as most Americans, then the Social Security fund would be solvent for the next 75 years.
Wikipedia backs up the first claim:
"Critics, such as libertarian Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman, say that Social Security redistributes wealth from the poor to the wealthy. Workers must pay 12.4%, including a 6.2% employer contribution, on their wages below the Social Security Wage Base ($102,000 in 2008), but no tax on income in excess of this amount. Therefore, high earners pay a lower percentage of their total income because of the income caps; because of this, payroll taxes are often viewed as being regressive. Furthermore, wealthier individuals generally have higher life expectancies and thus may expect to receive larger benefits for a longer period than poorer taxpayers. A single individual who dies before age 62, who is more likely to be poor, receives no retirement benefits despite his years of paying Social Security tax. On the other hand, an individual who lives to age 100, who is more likely to be wealthy, is guaranteed payments that are more than he paid into the system."
This is an outrage and you never hear anyone in the MSM or on the stump talk about it. This is just another way the wealth is spread in this country ... to the wealthy.