Famous Economist’s One Simple Idea For Making Things Better For Everyone
Economist Robert Reich has been releasing his “ten steps to make the economy work for the many, not the few” slowly but surely with the help of Moveon.org.
In his latest step (#3) he really gets to the heart of what could make a huge difference as Americans get older and maintain their standard of their living through retirement.
As Republicans would like to, quite literally, work us to death, Reich explains that Social Security is not in trouble and could be even better if we expanded it and eliminated the cap.
Many working Americans, especially as of late because of how fiscal policy is aimed at only protecting and working for the wealthiest Americans, have had difficulty saving for retirement or building a pension. Not to mention how expensive health care is for aging individuals.
With over 40 million seniors currently living in the United States, 2/3 of seniors get over half their income from Social Security. The other 1/3? The get over 90% of their income from the program. Needless to say, the program needs to be expanded.
Reich also wants you to ignore the scare tactics many use to make you think we need to raise the eligibility age, or cut benefits. It simply isn’t true.
By eliminating the cap of money paid into Social Security, the program will be solvent forever.
Reich explains that Medicare doesn’t have a cap and everyone pays for it through payroll taxes out of every check. However, with Social Security there’s a cap, and after earning $118,500 as of 2015, you no longer are required to pay. This literally lets the wealthy get away with not having to pay Social Security, while average Americans who earn up to $118,500 pay on all of their income.
By getting rid of the cap, the benefits of Social Security will be there for all of us for generations to come. As Americans, who live in a society of “We the People,” this is the sensible and right thing to do. It is literally an obvious solution.
Hopefully, legislators and leaders will recognize this obvious solution for Social Security, get their act together, and “scrap the cap.” |
