Solving Social Security Solvency: Poll Shows Americans Want the Wealthy to Pay Their Fair Share
Social Security is facing a financial crisis. If nothing changes, its trust fund will be depleted in less than 10 years. At that time, there will be no other option than to start cutting benefits. Obviously, no one wants that to happen, especially the 70 million hard-working Americans who pay into the system and rely on its benefits. According to an article by Common Dreams, for 40 percent of them, Social Security is the only retirement plan they have and their sole source of retirement income. These people cannot afford to have their benefits reduced by an estimated 20 percent or more.
What the People Want
A new poll by Social Security Works and Data for Progress reveals that Americans are unanimously opposed to cutting Social Security. It found that 71 percent of voters want Congress to protect Social Security by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans.
As another article by Common Dreams on this subject explains, the burden of paying for Social Security rests on the working class. That’s because Social Security contributions are currently capped at $168,600. People do not pay taxes on their wage income above that amount. Furthermore, unearned investment income is also exempt from Social Security contributions — further benefiting the wealthy.
It’s simply not fair. With the $168,600 payroll tax cap in place, a millionaire’s effective Social Security tax rate “is less than 1 percent compared to the 6.2 percent that any worker making less than $168,600 pays.”
Scrap the Cap
The Seniors Trust is in favor of scrapping the cap. We believe the best way to shore up Social Security is for lawmakers to enact the Social Security Expansion Act. It calls for lifting the cap on Social Security taxes to ensure that the wealthiest Americans pay a fairer amount in relation to their income. The bill’s sponsors say doing so would extend the solvency of Social Security for another 75 years.
Additionally, the Social Security Expansion Act would provide bigger monthly benefits — about $200 on average. It will also establish a fairer cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) by using the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) instead of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) used currently because the CPI-E takes into account the unique spending habits of seniors.
To show your support for the Social Security Expansion Act, please sign our petition to Congress.
