I was just thinking of you, wondering if the events of last evening had either lubricated or scrambled your thought processes, or if they'd even allow you to remember the discussion, and here you are with the rudiments of a proposal... <g> I do so miss designing big government programs. Such fun. I'm all energized at the prospect.
Let me first make sure I understand your thinking so far.
You want to return FICA contributions for self management, I assume in something like an IRA? I assume you mean to return all the contributions over a period of time. I assume you also mean to return them only to people who are still alive on disbursement day. Is that correct?
why not give every taxpayer 4% in the 1st year, 8% in the 2nd year etc, from their FICA contributions, which they can manage themselves ?
If so, I have a couple of specific questions.
You said you would be returning contributions. Does that mean in actual dollars or inflation adjusted dollars or what? For example, I paid in about 500 bucks or so in the fifties and sixties. Does that mean I get 20 bucks back per year for 25 years? What is it that you intend?
Let us assume, that there will be family/kids etc that are not working, and therefore work on the basis of 4% increase per year from the baseline.
I'm don't know where you're going with this. Does it have something to do with where you're going to get the money for the payout, that workers will continue to pay into FICA even as the payouts are being made? It's not clear to me where the money for the payouts will be coming from or what will happen to current recipients? Will LB, who is already collecting SS stop getting his pension and instead get four percent of his contributions each year for the next twenty five years? Or will the payouts only go to those who are still working while the current recipients continue to collect their pensions? Or what? |
