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>If I'm making say $250k a year, I could pay a little bit more in taxes to help the system be sustainable, and also more likely to be there if I do need it. I'
by ra1n85 7y ago
>If I'm making say $250k a year, I could pay a little bit more in taxes to help the system be sustainable, and also more likely to be there if I do need it.
I'm all for helping those in need and having a safety net, but I don't think what you're advocating for is a realistic solution. Social security is in trouble because it was mismanaged - increasing taxes to offset the burden of mismanagement is a half solution, and likely only a temporary fix. Social security (as well as a multitude of other things) is in its current state because we Americans lack the necessary systems/skills/policies to manage it properly.
- basementcat 7y agoHow is it mismanaged?
- wisty 7y agoOne example - Medicare is insanely expensive. IIRC the US government spends more on healthcare than Canada (adjusted for population etc) due to the huge costs of the most expensive clients (old people) getting "free" gold-plated private healthcare.
- basementcat 7y agoSocial Security != Medicare
- NotSammyHagar 7y agoAnd the health care is far from gold plated.
- ra1n85 7y ago-On track to be insolvent by 2034 -Costs already exceed income for trust funds -Costs will exceed income by 2020 for the entire program -The OASDI tax rate has been increased 20+ times since Social Security's inception in order to keep the program viable. Add an inability to even recognize mismanagement.
- basementcat 7y agoAll of these points have been known for some time and were actually "designed into" Social Security reform legislation that was enacted in the 1980's. The American people (through their elected representatives) have chosen to indefinitely postpone additional reform that may address some of your criticisms. Therefore it seems to me that the civil servants running Social Security have been doing exactly what they were expected to do so it still isn’t clear to me how they're mismanaging it.
- NotSammyHagar 7y agoThese things all come because our elected american representatives how not put more money into it. For my entire life every year there has been a report that they needed to put a bit more in and although there have been small amounts it has never been enough added. Calling this mismanagement of the program is not accurate because it suggests that the money was somehow lost or misinvested by the leaders of the program somehow. The senators and representatives in congress didn't put the right amount of money in it to match the payouts they set.