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Again we comment on Dr. Reich's missive, noting his continuing doctrinaire leftism.
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Republicans would love to get rid of Social Security and Medicare. But they can’t, because Social Security and Medicare are among the most popular of all federal programs. (Popular doesn't equal good or solvent or constitutional.)
Besides, most Americans have been paying into them their whole working lives, and depend on them. (Who makes them pay? Hmm? Doesn't government extract this money from peoples' pay check whether or not there is consent?)
So how will Republicans attempt to end these programs? By doing nothing to save Medicare and Social Security. (Why does it need saving? How many times has it been saved before? How much more will people have to give up in increased taxes and reduced or delayed benefits?)
The trustees for Medicare and Social Security – of which I used to be one – say Medicare will run out of money by 2026, three years sooner than last projected, and Social Security will run out in 2034. (No, it's out of money now. The entire assets of the SS Trust Fund are non-marketable bonds. Those are IOUs you and I will have to pay back.)
But this doesn’t have to be the case.
Here are three easy fixes to Social Security and Medicare that Republicans don’t want you to know about. (They don't want us to know???? Despite the fact that these "fixes" are trumpeted all over the media every day?)
First: Raise the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes. (More taxes.)
This year, that cap is $128,400, meaning that every dollar earned above $128,400 isn’t subject to Social Security taxes.
So the typical CEO of a big company, who makes over $15 million, pays Social Security taxes on just $128,400 of his or her income, a tiny fraction. While the typical nurse practitioner, who takes home around $100,000, pays Social Security taxes on every dollar of his or her income. (Historically there's always been a sort of balance between SS taxes paid and the amount of benefits that could be expected. It's been represented as an investment of sorts.
However, removing the cap will unmask what SS really is, a tax with a promised future benefit. It isn't an investment, it isn't a savings plan, we are not entitled to benefits by matter of law, and frankly, the money we have sent the government has already been spent.
If the rich will have to pay a disproportionate amount of tax. Their payment is not for them, it's for others. That's wealth redistribution, plain and simple.)
In this era of raging inequality, that’s not fair. And it’s not even logical. Raise the cap.
Second: To help rein in Medicare costs, allow the government to use its huge bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices.
Big Pharma has gotten legislation barring the government from negotiating lower drug prices. That legislation should be repealed. (Sounds like a problem with government. Why didn't Obama remove this legislation? Why didn't Clinton? Why is it the eeevil Republicans' fault?)
Big Pharma says this would mean less research on new drugs, but that’s baloney. Pharma already spends more on advertising, marketing, and lobbying than it does on research.
Third: To deal with a basic reason why Social Security and Medicare are running out of money, allow more young immigrants into the U.S. (More taxes.)
The basic reason why Social Security and Medicare are running out of money is the American population continues to age and live longer – leaving a relatively smaller working population to pay into Social Security and Medicare. (In other words, it's actuarially unsound and structurally flawed.)
What to do? Allow in more young immigrants. Immigrants and their children are the fastest growing segment of the working population, already contributing billions in payroll taxes every year. Instead of shutting immigrants out, allowing more immigrants into the country will help secure the future of Social Security and Medicare. (This negates fix #1. Unless these immigrants are high wage earners, they will not contribute the amounts necessary to achieve SS solvency.)
This isn’t rocket science, folks. Raise the cap, negotiate drug prices, and allow in more immigrants. Do these three things and you won’t have to worry about Social Security and Medicare not being there when you need it. (Yet another fix that might last 5 years. Then we'll go through the whole thing again, and blame Republicans.
The problem isn't funding, the problem is the structure of SS is faulty. It's based on a false premise, funded by smoke and mirrors, and can only continue as long as people like Dr. Reich are lying about it.)
Again we comment on Dr. Reich's missive, noting his continuing doctrinaire leftism.
---------------
Republicans would love to get rid of Social Security and Medicare. But they can’t, because Social Security and Medicare are among the most popular of all federal programs. (Popular doesn't equal good or solvent or constitutional.)
Besides, most Americans have been paying into them their whole working lives, and depend on them. (Who makes them pay? Hmm? Doesn't government extract this money from peoples' pay check whether or not there is consent?)
So how will Republicans attempt to end these programs? By doing nothing to save Medicare and Social Security. (Why does it need saving? How many times has it been saved before? How much more will people have to give up in increased taxes and reduced or delayed benefits?)
The trustees for Medicare and Social Security – of which I used to be one – say Medicare will run out of money by 2026, three years sooner than last projected, and Social Security will run out in 2034. (No, it's out of money now. The entire assets of the SS Trust Fund are non-marketable bonds. Those are IOUs you and I will have to pay back.)
But this doesn’t have to be the case.
Here are three easy fixes to Social Security and Medicare that Republicans don’t want you to know about. (They don't want us to know???? Despite the fact that these "fixes" are trumpeted all over the media every day?)
First: Raise the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes. (More taxes.)
This year, that cap is $128,400, meaning that every dollar earned above $128,400 isn’t subject to Social Security taxes.
So the typical CEO of a big company, who makes over $15 million, pays Social Security taxes on just $128,400 of his or her income, a tiny fraction. While the typical nurse practitioner, who takes home around $100,000, pays Social Security taxes on every dollar of his or her income. (Historically there's always been a sort of balance between SS taxes paid and the amount of benefits that could be expected. It's been represented as an investment of sorts.
However, removing the cap will unmask what SS really is, a tax with a promised future benefit. It isn't an investment, it isn't a savings plan, we are not entitled to benefits by matter of law, and frankly, the money we have sent the government has already been spent.
If the rich will have to pay a disproportionate amount of tax. Their payment is not for them, it's for others. That's wealth redistribution, plain and simple.)
In this era of raging inequality, that’s not fair. And it’s not even logical. Raise the cap.
Second: To help rein in Medicare costs, allow the government to use its huge bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices.
Big Pharma has gotten legislation barring the government from negotiating lower drug prices. That legislation should be repealed. (Sounds like a problem with government. Why didn't Obama remove this legislation? Why didn't Clinton? Why is it the eeevil Republicans' fault?)
Big Pharma says this would mean less research on new drugs, but that’s baloney. Pharma already spends more on advertising, marketing, and lobbying than it does on research.
Third: To deal with a basic reason why Social Security and Medicare are running out of money, allow more young immigrants into the U.S. (More taxes.)
The basic reason why Social Security and Medicare are running out of money is the American population continues to age and live longer – leaving a relatively smaller working population to pay into Social Security and Medicare. (In other words, it's actuarially unsound and structurally flawed.)
What to do? Allow in more young immigrants. Immigrants and their children are the fastest growing segment of the working population, already contributing billions in payroll taxes every year. Instead of shutting immigrants out, allowing more immigrants into the country will help secure the future of Social Security and Medicare. (This negates fix #1. Unless these immigrants are high wage earners, they will not contribute the amounts necessary to achieve SS solvency.)
This isn’t rocket science, folks. Raise the cap, negotiate drug prices, and allow in more immigrants. Do these three things and you won’t have to worry about Social Security and Medicare not being there when you need it. (Yet another fix that might last 5 years. Then we'll go through the whole thing again, and blame Republicans.
The problem isn't funding, the problem is the structure of SS is faulty. It's based on a false premise, funded by smoke and mirrors, and can only continue as long as people like Dr. Reich are lying about it.)
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