MarcW: RE:<the caller responding to Bob's questioning
said he had over $2 million in assets and earning over $100,00 a year... I don't think Bob found his plight overly sympathetic and ... was not ready to take up a collection for him (to pay his extra tax of SS).>
I heard the same context. My guess is that Brinker was very irritated by the caller's complaint. I'd guess his anger at a person of such means complaining about an extra $1,700 tax caused Brinker's temporary insanity and his cavalier response "I think ALL social security should be taxed - it's like pension income, isn't it?". Blinded by this anger, Brinker totally ignored the caller's correct retort "but Bob, even in my private pension at work, I'm not taxed on the aftertax dollars I contribute to the plan".
Frankly, If I were Bob, I'd rethink this whole idea about 100% taxation of social security benefits and re-explain his position on today's program. Given Brinker's past positions on issues of taxation, it's hard to stomach that he really believes what he said on yesterday's program. 100% taxation of social security benefits will just bring on more class warfare conflict - maybe great headlines for grandstanding polititicians, but it won't solve anything.
One nasty consequence of increasing taxes on social security benefits happens to those on company pensions that reduce employee entitlement in the amount of expected social security benefits. Those pension benefits are earned over the employee's working life. When you reduce social security benefits directly, the reduction would be made up by a larger pension benefit. However, when you reduce social security benefits dishonestly through back door increased taxation, the pension benefit remains the same and the employee's total pension plus aftertax social security benefit decrease at a time when the recipient is retired. It's changing the rules of the game after the game has been play - it stinks to high hell !
Instead of calling excess social security tax collections a "budget surplus" and spending it or giving it back to people in the form of a tax cut, The government should start investing social security tax collections like pension plans invest (ie.in a globally diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and real estate) so confidence of the Generation X'rs will increase in the program they now believe won't be there for them.
P |
