Reply #34: Here's my take.

[mwooldri]

1) Hike up SS tax, raise the cap.

2) Allow people to opt out of the raise as long as the money goes into a retirement account.

The upside is that people are now actually putting some real money away for retirement, and Social Security is better funded. It also gives individuals a choice because they can choose between a public or a private (supplemental) retirement account. It also provides a safety net so if the individuals who choose private and their plans go bust then the basic Social Security amount will still be there for them as they would still be paying SS Tax at todays' present level.

The downside is that people who are not contributing to a retirement plan of any kind will feel the pinch in the short term with the increased SS Tax.