From Public Policy Polling:
Do you support or oppose increasing – notcutting – Social Security benefits by askingmillionaires and billionaires to pay more intothe system?72%
Support increasing – not cutting - SocialSecurity benefits by asking millionaires andbillionaires to pay more into the system16%
Oppose increasing – not cutting - SocialSecurity benefits by asking millionaires andbillionaires to pay more into the system12%
Even 51% of Republicans support increasing Social Security benefits while asking the wealthy to pay more.
8 comments:
Is Social Security a needs based program or an earned benefit program? While those with lower earned income have benefits determined more favorably, what is the bedrock/foundation principle for SSA?
They really need to drop the cap on taxable income for SSA. (And I say this as someone who has already reached the cap for the year).
I've always felt like the term "asking" is inappropriate in this context.
@12:09
SSI is a needs based program.
DIB is an earned benefit program.
The bedrock/foundation principle is to to save men and women from the rigors of the poor house as well as from the haunting fear that such a lot awaits them when journey's end is near. - Helvering v. Davis.
There's no rule that social security has to operate a certain way; social security and every other program or policy we have are the way that they are because we designed them to be that way. We could just as easily make different policy choices.
So 12:09, though I suspect their impetus is bad, asked the right question. What is Social Security? Or I guess a slightly better question is: what should Social Security be?
Finally I will note that this polling, like a lot of other similar polling, suggests a broad consensus among Americans for stronger social spending funded largely off the backs of the wealthy.
@ 5:12 That's correct. We need to return to the 90% tax rates for the 1%. When they were paying taxes we had infrastructure and investment in our people. Maybe that's what made "America Great."
@12:09
Is Social Security a needs based program or an earned benefit program?
Currently, it is an earned benefit program with some skewing of the benefits in favor of low earners.
Of course, as has been pointed out, this comes from a public policy decision that was made by Congress and can be changed by Congress.
Note to Radical Republicans: Our current election is about what public policy get implemented. It is not about "Saving our Country", "Taking Our Country Back" or "Making America Great Again". It will not be the apocalypse if you lose. Chill.
Who is the millionaire? Do business assets count? 401k? Someone who has a house in a swanky neighborhood and nothing else? A farmer with lots of land?
Eliminate the cap on wages and self-employment profit so they pay higher FICA and add another bendpoint with even less return so that the increase in taxes is both tied to the earnings of the worker and the worker gets an albeit smaller, but still an increase in PIA.
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