Reply #3: Remove the cap on social security earnings...

[gmoney]

... make it a straight 6% (or whatever works) on all declared income, whether it's wages, stock options, perks, capital gains, inheritance, gambling income, gifts, whatever, with NO top end. Bill Gates earns a billion in a year? He pays $60 Million into the Social Security pool.

Social security should also have an income limit for collecting, too. Even if you're retired, if you still have over $75,000 in annual income, you don't get to collect social security. After all, it's for SECURITY... that way, maybe we can afford to pay the people that really NEED the money enough to bring their income up to a reasonable amount... say $35,000 a year, adjusted for inflation.

The right wingers will say this removes all incentive to save for one's own retirement. Fine! If you feel you can live on $35,000 a year, feel free to blow all your money on candy and gum and Def Leppard T-shirts. You're still paying in to the fund, and the money you blow at least goes into the economy. Or if you pass your millions along to your kids just so you can collect your $35K, they'll pay into the fund on that money, and then go pump it into the economy one way or another.

This will protect the retirees who worked hard all their lives, or who were homemakers, but never earned enough to set a serious amount aside.

Maybe it's just a socialist fantasy, but the ivory back scratcher crowd got all the breaks in life, built their fortunes on the backs of wage slaves and taxpayers, so they owe SOCIETY at large a little SECURITY in return.

"They want the federal goverment controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program." -- GWB 11-2-2000