General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Look folks, politics aside, we might have to cut SS benefits 30 years from now... [View all]democrattotheend
(11,607 posts)Which seems fair to me. Many liberals oppose means testing because they want to keep SS as a social insurance program rather than a welfare program. If the cap were removed completely it would be hard to argue that SS was not a welfare program, as the amount rich people paid in taxes would drastically outweigh the benefits they received.
However, the problem is that the cap has not kept pace with inflation. A few decades ago, the cap covered 90% of earned income. Now there is significantly more income above the cap. So there is a very strong case for raising the cap to keep pace.
Eliminating it entirely would not be wise, IMO, because it would essentially turn SS into a redistribution program and make it a bullseye target for the rich and powerful.
We cannot have it both ways. We cannot claim that SS is a social insurance program rather than a welfare program and at the same time argue for eliminating the cap, which would turn it into a welfare program because the cost to some workers would greatly outweigh the benefits.