March 7, 2013
THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE FUNDING IS SO EASY TO FIX...:
The War On Entitlements (Tom Edsall, 3/07/13, NY Times)
Currently, earned income in excess of $113,700 is entirely exempt from the 6.2 percent payroll tax that funds Social Security benefits (employers pay a matching 6.2 percent). 5.2 percent of working Americans make more than $113,700 a year. Simply by eliminating the payroll tax earnings cap -- and thus ending this regressive exemption for the top 5.2 percent of earners -- would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, solve the financial crisis facing the Social Security system.
...that you risk removing the impetus for reform unless you hold out for a Grand Bargain.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 7, 2013 8:19 PM
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