Can you imagine how long a social security plan would last if a large number of contributors (wealthy) knew that they would never be eligilbe for benefits?:
Another point; If wealthy contributors to social security are inelgible for benefits then it means that they are veing taxed only to pay someone else. So that indicates alarge charitable contribution from ordinary earners to the less sucessful or less fortunate. I thought you guys were against wealth distribution?
Secondly if it is only a charitable gift thern why orordinary income producers the only one to contribute to that charity. Why aren't investors forced to pay 12.5 percent of their income to support that charity. Should you or I or people like us be the only ones taxed to provide SS benefits for the poor.
You know i have paid into Social secuirity since I was 15 years old. I got a job scooping corn for a trucker and he would not pay my wages until I got a SS number. We are talking about alousy $40 for a weeks work and he wouldn't pay me. The law allowed me to draw a full retirement benefit at age 65.5. That is a total of 50.5 years of donations. Since i have draw SS and kept my business going. In the 5.5 years since then I have drawn benefits kept farming and paying taxes and another 5.5 years of paying in SS benefits. That totals out tyo 56 years of exposure to Social security taxes. How long should I have to pay in before you think I am eligible to get part of it back?
Btw I could have taken a early benefit at age 62 which will probably deliver more dollars in benefits than waiting to the full retirment age. But in our instance our income was good and we worked for a higher benefit at a later time. I'm drawing more but won't draw as long. Meanwhile i am still contributing a sizable amount in fica taxes.
One day the baby boom scenario will play out and we will have a better stablized SS system. There will be a more orderly expansion of beneficiaries instead of the glut of beneficiaries coming on at one time. So the secret is increased revenues over along period of time to keep it in play until that time come.
The only thing that can destroy SS is people losing the commitment to it. Reagan pushed retirment age back modestly and increase SS taxes. That is what built up the trust fund for the baby boomers. 2.5 trillion in the SS trust fund to make SS solvent until 2037 is the current figure. It used to be 2042 but this recession has cut down revenues.
So everything depends on getting people back to work. But punishing seniors and the poor and unemployed is simply attacking the weakest. Making them pay for deficits that weren't created by them. But then Your folks were never for SS or medicare and they would love to kill it now. But you don't see them mention that their salaries and oensions should be cut as well. We cannot afford SS and medicare but we can sure as hell afford another tax cut for mr. got bucks.
. I got news for `em though when the printing presses start really rolling we`ll all be SoL. Some rainy day figure out how much you`ve paid into SS and the date you`ll start drawing out more than what you`ve paid in, it will surprise you. Of course those dollars you put in 50 years ago are each worth $30 today after inflation. There are poor retired folks that really do need that monthly check to insure they continue those checks we need to perform triage and funnel to those in need. Raising taxes is not the answer, no matter what you do with rates 20% of GDP is the maximum amount you`ll ever squeeze out of the taxpayers. Killing the golden goose comes to mind.
