In the midst of all the brouhaha brought about by the Administration with respect to how Social Security is supposedly going broke and is in "crisis," the typical "solutions" floated in the mainstream media to "fix" this situation have been one of the following three:
- Increase the number of years before people can retire.
- Raise taxes.
- Cut benefits.
I, for one, do not really think the system is in "crisis." I believe that, like the whole "weapons of mass destruction" propaganda that the Administration pushed to scare the American people into supporting a war in Iraq, the Administration is ginning up another phony "crisis" in order to scare the American people into supporting gutting the SS program and sending money to its wealthy contributors and allies on Wall Street by way of the phony solution of "private investment accounts."
Case in point: Even the Administration admits that the SS trust fund, funded at current levels, will be able to meet ALL of its obligations for the next THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS, and that after that, the SS Trust Fund will still be able to meet between 75% to 80% of its projected obligations.
But apparently, thirty-eight years of solvency means nothing these days. It's not good enough for these supposed long-range planners and visionaries who are now running our country.
So, the ideal window of time, according to most media voices I've heard wieghing in on the issue, is now SEVENTY-FIVE years of solvency.
In any event, Lindsey Graham (of all people) floated the most sensible solution to "saving" SS. This most sensible solution is increasing the "earnings cap."
For those of you who don't know, wages are only taxed up to $90,000 for the sake of SS. Thus, if I should make $200,000 a year, I will only pay SS tax on the first $90,000. The remaining $110,000 that I earn over and above that first $90,000 will be free of any SS tax. Imagine what that situation is like for someone earning MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR.
(As you can see, SS is based upon a taxation system that falls upon the lower and middle classes.)
In any event, a simple "solution" to the phony "crisis" the Administration has concocted would be raising the earnings cap to, say, $100,000, or perhaps even higher.
Of course, it would make the wealthy pay a greater share of the cost of SS. But I have no real problem with this considering the fact that, according to all the studies and statistics I've read, over the past two decades it has basically been the top income receivers in the country who have been getting the lion's share of the wealth of this nation, while they've sent American jobs to low-wage countries through the corporations they own or control, and while the middle and lower classes have seen their real wages stagnate or even shrink.
So, anyway, here is the link to the article in which Graham suggests raising the earnings cap:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aLNPXNKbEPQ0&refer=top_world_news
I repeat: This is a simple and sensible solution. I believe that the more people talk about this option, and force media talking heads and politicians to talk about it, the better for all of us.
(Full disclosure: I currently make over $90,000 a year.)