Jamie, as always you have hit it right on! Much of what has gone wrong has been the fault of a Congress with no sense of responsibility and a total lack of integrity. They spend and spend and now when the money is running out they just want more money rather than less spending.
Thank you Jamie for your detailed analysis. Now I feel guilty thinking you were just another booze swilling, boobs ogling middle-aged guy from the Rockies (looking squarely in the mirror as I type)....Now for another thought: Why do we struggle with the concept of eliminating the FICA cap at $106,800?? I love it when I hit it but also realize Lebron James and Tiger don't pay soc-sec' tax either beyond $106,800. Is it because employers would have to match this also??? Twinimini, weigh in here pls...
Well said Jamie. I would like to add one thing. So often, in political debates, 100% of the fault is laid the oppositions feet. What are the chances that all the screw ups and corruption rest in one party while the other is faultless? I think voters should freely critize the shortcomings of the parties they support as all as the opposition. Governments should be held accountable by their supporters as well as their opponents. In fact, negative responses from their supporters will carry more weight. Neither party wants to alienate their base. One last thing. So many people identify themselves as "Republican" or "Democrat". Presumably, because they agree with the core values attached to the parties. But those values shift over time. And many times the actions of political parties don't not reflect the values they claim to hold. Political parties would be more accountable if more people were "swing voters" insisting that politicians identify issues and their proposed solutions before they get their vote.
While I do resemble being just another booze swilling, boobs ogling middle-aged guy from the Rockies, that's just mostly two weeks a year in Cancun, execpt for the boobs ogling, I do that year round... anyway... I was surprise that cut off existed when I hit it the first time. Now I sort of count on it for my christmas shopping money. But it' not that much that I wouldn't think twice about saying that it away. I mean I don't hit it until December but wonder about the folks that hit it in June/July or earlier. Jamie
Amen brother (and I say that with no intent of a religious affiliation :icon_smile. Most of the people I know have or are greatly questioning the presidents they've voted for. It is quite refreshing to hear but disconcerting because we just don't see a great candidate anywhere. I've found liberals and conservatives in my workplace to be surprisingly close together on items like spending,wars, social security, when items like religion and abortion are removed...I suspect when , at the polls, folks just revert to their old standby party when they cannot love any candidate...Hearing some Obama supporters now criticize him DOES carry weight. I hope it had the same effect when I had to concede in 2006, "Bush is not a fiscal conservative like I thought. Dammit."
In theory the wage cap is in place because that is all the funding that is needed. Notice I said in theory. The cap rises to $110,000 in 2012 and I'm sure it will go up from there. When the program started there were 15 workers for everyone drawing from the program. Now there are three workers for everyone drawing on the program. One of the proposals out there is that the cap be eliminated altogether. The problem with that is that if I'm self employed and make over $250,000 a year I'm effectively in a 50% tax bracket with a 35% income tax and a 15.3% FICA tax (both sides, employer and employee) which starts to get to the point of being a confiscatory tax. Once I pay the government more than I keep it becomes confiscatory. I'm not even sure if that's a word, but I'll just rephrase it that the government is confiscating income. The biggest problem with Social Security is the way the program has changed over the years. It was meant to be a safety net for those who could not provide for themselves. It has evolved into an entitlement program where everyone is entitled to get a piece of the pie. Too lazy to work, then claim disability and you'll draw until you die. Too fat, then jump on the disability wagon and get your free ride. Having kids into your 60's? That's okay because you and the kiddies can both draw off the Social Security cow. Still working and making $500,000 a year? No problem you can still draw your maximum Social Security as long as you are 66 years old. To fix the damned thing we have to change it from an entitlement for everyone into a program for those who need it only. The argument is "I paid into it, so I should draw!" Well, Cupcake you paid into the income taxes too, but you're not drawing anything out of there. Also Disability has to be that you ABSOLUTELY CAN'T work, not that you have some trumped up pain in your toe nail that keeps you from working. I'm sure there is something you can do that would keep you off the system. I have people who are blind and who are in wheelchairs who don't draw SSI, so I see no reason why those that can walk and think can't work somewhere doing something. If you make a certain amount of income even though you are 66, you can't draw. That would make the system work. I'm sure AARP would have a hairy over these suggestions, but they're pretty much a rip off organization in their own right.
We had a politician here in Calgary who got mixed responses for saying, "If you can say, 'Do you have any spare change?' you can say, 'Would you like fries with that?'".
Bush said sorry? I must have missed that. And you still missed the entire point. Yes or no- is a payroll tax a tax? If yes, why is its reinstatement not being vehemently fought against by those who have pledged that no more taxation shall be allowed?
In this case, it is not a payroll tax or any other kind of tax. It is a deduction to fund Social Security which is several social welfare and social insurance programs, the largest being a retirement program. So funding Social Security is like funding a 401K program. So it is NOT a TAX. It's one of those government mandated programs that everyone participates in if they want to or not. Much like ObamaCare. So I ask you where was this indignation on increasing taxes when they passed THAT bill? That is the reason a lot of us are against extending the cut, because it continues to underfund an already underfunded program. So now that we've answered your question... the horse is dead. Stop beating it. Jamie
