Reply #28: yeah, I've heard that, but it's

[BlueInRed]

just a sales pitch to protect the rich from taxation, like everything else. I'm surprised you buy the argument. The program is designed to have current wage earners of ALL stripes pay for a base benefit for everyone. Some get more in comparison to what they put in, some get less. The guy making 79,900 year after year put in more than the guy making 45,000, but their benefits are not that different. Yeah the benefits are adjusted, but not to the degree of the difference in contributions.

It's basically a debate about progressive vs regressive taxation. The reason anyone even argues about it is upper middle class people who jointly make over 80K want the exemption, as it benefits them a bit.