If we privatize social security
Abuskedti
Posts: 1,917
it will provide an enormous boost to the economy
it is a relatively short term fix.. and bad for the elderly..... but we are a short term nation...
there are not many things that will save this economy - Social Security is a huge resource!
of course that will require some tax increase since the govt has gotten accustomed to spending social security revenue on wars and such.
it is a relatively short term fix.. and bad for the elderly..... but we are a short term nation...
there are not many things that will save this economy - Social Security is a huge resource!
of course that will require some tax increase since the govt has gotten accustomed to spending social security revenue on wars and such.
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Well said, there is a giant hole right now where all that money is supposed to be. It should be doing nothing but earning interest instead it's being used as soon as it comes in just like another tax.
It'd make a lot of sense either to let an investment group do it or to let people invest thier own money. Imagine just having to dump that portion of a paycheck into a high yield savings account that you couldn't access until a certain age then you could choose to get it all then or annuitize payments (and if you died before that time it would be given back to your family) The problem of course is again irresponsible people would burn though it quickly and screw themselves.
It would put a ton of money back into the economy and it would also increase the deficit in the short term. The next president is going to have to force a balanced budget (perhaps consider an amendment forcing a balanced budget) and start using any surplus to pay down the deficit.
Why is the government in charge of mismanaging retirement funds at all?
To answer your question, it is because the amt paid in social security benefits are capped as well. Someone making 400,000/yr isn't going to be receiving a $20,000/mo social security check.
Almost every singly working American pays money into this fund every single paycheck. Think about how enormous this fund is.
And this reminds me of what I heard a few days ago..
President Reagan set an arbitrary cap on the anount of SS claims...like 20% or some random percentage, were going to be denied. The one thing George Bush part 1 did was to go back and pay out all those claims that had been unpaid for 10 years...and guess what-there was enough money in the fund to pay 10 years of unanswered claims and pay the current ones.
The case workers didn't get caught up until 2000, but the money was there and is there. The idea that social security is going bankrupt is absurd-the money is going somewhere...probably paying off the countries massive debt.
Good question, it makes it a regressive tax, and 1 that gets the highest percentage of lower and middle class taxes.
So basically the american taxation system is regressive, those who have more pay less.
There is a cap on both sides of the equation, both incoming and outgoing. And this isn't supposed to be a tax. It is a coerced contribution to a retirement fund.
Someone earning a higher salary while working is going to have more money in retirement, whether publicly or privately funded. Put more in, get more out. That's the way any retirement plan (social security, 401k, under the mattress, gold coins) works.
We do not save any of that money.. every year it is spent on defense etc.. .as soon as the payouts are larger than revenue our government is left with the problem of how to pay it back..
That money also gets pilfered for wars and other government "needs" but I do believe the majority does at least stay within social security.
"Sometimes I think I'd be better off dead. No, wait, not me, you." -Deep Toughts, Jack Handy
now that is closer to evened out - the majority goes to social security..
but for the early years - when people paid in and nothing was paid out...
that was all spent on other government priorities.
Coerced contibution to a retirement fund...mm. It is way more than that. Without social security we would have millions more homeless wandering the streets, millions of people in need going without care. You can say get a job, but many of these people have tried, many times, and simply cannot function in a work environment. And some are too old it is a retirement fund as well. But google schizophrenia, imo.
As for it being bankrupt, that is bullshit. "The program has an “extremely solid” base that will provide benefits until 2037, even under the “pessimistic” assumptions of a 1.7% average annual growth rate to estimate the projections...". According to a Nader site.
Taking 1$ from someone with 5$ hurts more than taking 1$ from a guy with 10$. Which is what the social security tax does. It is regressive, as are most taxes..sales, property...to name a few.
I think privatizing SS is a great idea. raising taxes is not. (spending needs to stop)
maybe that will wake the lower class up, and get them to the election polls.
$96,500 is actually the cap...
the real reason is americans are collectively dumb... the entire tax code is tilted towards the wealthy... it is blatant... and we just keep swallowing it down
obama and edwards are the only 2 major candidates that have openly said they would raise the cap... because it is a no branier on how to fix the system, and make the SS tax fair and progressive
it is a crime that I pay basicaly the same amount into social security as Bill Gates and Alex Rodriguez
in a democracy, you get the leadership you deserve
very conservative of you.... so if we privatize social security right now.. how will you honor the committment to those that have had social security withheld for the last 100 years without social security revenue?
you can't enforce it the next business day. You have to give people some notice and time to prepare for it. Say cap off people 35 and under so they have time to build up their accounts for when they retire.
we are close to the point where revenues are equal to benefits payable. We can not stop paying benefits - so if people under 35 stop paying into social security, that money will have to be replaced somehow.
fund that instead of a pointless war, perhaps?
I believe it's $90k for 2008 (not that it's that big of a difference). However, an earner only gets benefits up to that cap of $90k....benefits earned later are based on that maximum, not the $150k or $1 million or whatever that earner actually makes.