simple ss solution I posted as a reply earlier

[backwoodsbob]

why aren't we pushing for a ss tax on dividends/capital gains?It would only take a 1% tax and ss would be in the black as far as the eye can see.

we wouldn't even need to raise the cap on income beyond it's annual adjustment

[iamtechus]

1. SS isn't broke and a fix isn't required.

http://delmontpda.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/top-5-social-security-myths-debunked/

[backwoodsbob]

2. oh I understand thAT

my point was...they want to do this whole catfood commission and it's obvious they wan't to cut bennies...we should push a counter solution...lets tax dividends/capital gains instead.

[iamtechus]

3. Excellent suggestion

[deaniac21]

6. The social security trust fund.....you are funny. The government

pays out every cent it receives every year which only pays 59% of the bills. The rest is borrowed. Get a clue.

[Sherman A1]

4. I think this is excellent and should be included

with eliminating the cap on earnings. The wealthy have long had the benefit of the tax laws and have raided the rest of society, so it's now their turn to buck up.

[deaniac21]

5. The people retiring are counting on 401K money which this would hurt.

[State the Obvious]

7. The people retiring are counting on 401K money which (for many) isn't there. nt

[deaniac21]

8. For many it is.

[PBS Poll-435]

9. Because FICA is a tax on earned money

You are breaking a social contract when you change the revenue stream.

[TheKentuckian]

10. Lame argument, by that logic any change "breaks the social contract"

The bastards already broke it out of our favor and raised the age which steals billions in value.

Especially in light of who profited from stealing the trust fund blind, few have any problems with a commonsense application of the tax to all income except for the potential for their to be more money to steal and add to the "deficit" later.

The crucial social contract is to care for our elderly, sick, and dependents not to avoid touching income from investment.

Shame on you for trying to shame workers from being taken care of in their golden years to protect gains without labor and increasingly without even the risks of investment.

[PBS Poll-435]

11. Don't say "shame on me".

That's rude.

You do understand unrealized capital gains, qualified dividends and other tax code minutia, right?

[TheKentuckian]

12. I don't care if it is rude. I take your bogus "breaking the social contract" line offensive

I'm not an accountant but I'm strongly in favor of a piece of those proceeds and care not what supply side Jesus platitudes you have to shield the lion's share of revenue.

[PBS Poll-435]

16. The US Government relies mostly on FICA taxes through EFTPS deposits

to fund its day-to-day operations. IOUs back to the general fund from the SS trust fund.

[RC]

13. What the real problem with social Security is the loss of so many of our

living wage jobs do to outsourcing. The average wage has gone down in the last 10 years. The leading edge of the baby boomers are now starting to draw Social security. More than a few are "retiring" early at 62 and drawing Social Security. That is why Social Security is "in trouble"
No, it ain't. Get our living wage jobs back in to this country and a lot of our problems will go away.

[TheKentuckian]

15. That helps a lot of things and is vitally important but it doesn't replace the stolen 2.5 trillion

Nor does it fix the real shortfall in about thirty years, give or take.

[Codeine]

14. Just raise the taxation cap for SS.

Voila. End of issue, just like that.

[PBS Poll-435]

17. Yep. Start @ 150,000 for 2011 for SS, and raise the MI rate to 1.65%

Done.

Oh happy day.

[customerserviceguy]

19. Are there enough people out there

who earn more than the current cap, whose FICA taxes would make more than enough to cover the coming shortfalls, after the raise in their maximum benefit is factored in?

I'm not saying that it is definitely insufficient, I'm just saying that I've never seen any numbers that would back up the idea that a simple raise in the cap would produce enough revenue, again, especially after figuring that those individuals so taxed would get more per month in a maximum Social Security benefit for their remaining lifetimes.

[customerserviceguy]

18. There's a few big questions

When the cap on taxable wages is raised, it raises the maximum monthly benefit.

If dividends and capital gains are taxed, would you add the taxable amount to what a person earns, when computing their Social Security benefit, just like if they had made the money from wages?

Would you exempt a certain amount, especially for people who are already retired?

Why would you include dividends and capital gains, but not interest income, profits from rental property, pension income, or other forms of income that are not currently subject to Social Security tax?

I'm not against your proposal, I'd just like to explore the justifications of it, and the ramifications, as well.

[backwoodsbob]

20. well..not an expert here by any means..just tossing thoughts here

I would have no problem adding interest income from your list to the 1% I suggested.BUT ONLY interest income.

My thing is..I would NOT add from this list for the purposes of raising an individuals cap.My reasoning is FICA is drawn through labor of some kind that a person has done for a paycheck.The labor pays the tax if you follow me.

Capital gains/divs and interest income do not have any inherent labor involved per say so there is no justification to raise the cap.

The other things on your list in some way involve added labor and if taxed SHOULD allow a raising of benefits.Therefore I think we should leave those well enough alone.Pension income you earned through your labor.Rental property involves labor in some form.

Capital gains/dividends/interest income involves nothing more than money making money,therefore I feel it should be used to suppliment ss instead of allowing the catfood commission to cut bennies.

Of course in SOME cases capital gains can be more,but not in enough cases to override a simple 1% tax.

Oh..and as far as 401(k)'s...we can always exempt them using the same justification.You and your employer are contributing money to your 401(k) directly from labor you supplied to make that money.

[customerserviceguy]

21. How about another way of dealing with that

Raise income taxes that affect all taxable income, so that the Social Security Trust Fund IOU's can be paid back?

We're going to have to do it eventually, setting up a special investment tax to fund SS would not only entail a new bureaucracy (and the cheating that inevitably will accompany it), but it will distort investment in this country. The current investment climate already takes into account the fact of the income tax.

I'm all for tossing thoughts, but raising revenue through existing means is almost always more efficient than devising new ways to do it.

[backwoodsbob]

22. you may be right

this is why I toss my thoughts to you guys...you guys educate me more often than not

[customerserviceguy]

23. I learn more from the people I disagree with

than I do from those who I agree with. It is a good place to do some creative thinking.