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Title: The Only Social Security Reform Worth Considering: Raising The Ceiling On Income Subject To It
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Published: Jul 24, 2011
Author: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-only-
Post Date: 2011-07-24 20:41:02 by tom007
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Views: 61
Comments: 5
The Only Social Security Reform Worth Considering: Raising The Ceiling On Income Subject To It Robert Reich | Jul. 23, 2011, 6:37 AM | 1,364 | 31 A A A inShare5 Robert Reich URL Robert Reich is an economist, a professor, and former Clinton labor secretary Recent Posts Budgetary Stupidity: Why Medicare Is The Solution -- Not The Problem The Shameful Murder of Dodd Frank Robert Reich On The Dangerous Hi-Jinks Of The GOP's Juveniles RSS Feed Why Medicare Is the Solution -- Not the Problem The Only Social Security Reform Worth Considering: Raising the Ceiling on Income Subject to It The Shameful Murder of Dodd Frank See Also: bernanke Fed "Actively" Planning For Default Coburn/Conrad2 Gang Of Six Debt Ceiling Plan Loses Steam As Deadline Looms Tom Coburn Understanding The Gang Of Six Plan The very idea that Social Security might be on the chopping block in order to pay the ransom Republicans are demanding reveals both the cravenness of their demands and the callowness of the opposition to those demands. In a former life I was a trustee of the Social Security trust fund. So let me set the record straight. Social Security isn’t responsible for the federal deficit. Just the opposite. Until last year Social Security took in more payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits. It lent the surpluses to the rest of the government. Now that Social Security has started to pay out more than it takes in, Social Security can simply collect what the rest of the government owes it. This will keep it fully solvent for the next 26 years. But why should there even be a problem 26 years from now? Back in 1983, Alan Greenspan’s Social Security commission was supposed to have fixed the system for good – by gradually increasing payroll taxes and raising the retirement age. (Early boomers like me can start collecting full benefits at age 66; late boomers born after 1960 will have to wait until they’re 67.) Greenspan’s commission must have failed to predict something. What? Inequality. Remember, the Social Security payroll tax applies only to earnings up to a certain ceiling. (That ceiling is now $106,800.) The ceiling rises every year according to a formula roughly matching inflation. Back in 1983, the ceiling was set so the Social Security payroll tax would hit 90 percent of all wages covered by Social Security. That 90 percent figure was built into the Greenspan Commission’s fixes. The Commission assumed that, as the ceiling rose with inflation, the Social Security payroll tax would continue to hit 90 percent of total income. Today, though, the Social Security payroll tax hits only about 84 percent of total income. It went from 90 percent to 84 percent because a larger and larger portion of total income has gone to the top. In 1983, the richest 1 percent of Americans got 11.6 percent of total income. Today the top 1 percent takes in more than 20 percent. If we want to go back to 90 percent, the ceiling on income subject to the Social Security tax would need to be raised to $180,000. Presto. Social Security’s long-term (beyond 26 years from now) problem would be solved. So there’s no reason even to consider reducing Social Security benefits or raising the age of eligibility. The logical response to the increasing concentration of income at the top is simply to raise the ceiling. [This post is drawn from one I posted in February — before Social Security was as on the chopping block] Read more posts on Robert Reich » Please follow Business Insider on Twitter and Facebook. Tags: Social Security | Get Alerts for these topics » Read more: www.businessinsider.com/t...o-it-2011-7#ixzz1T4ZhlKa8
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#1. To: tom007 (#0)
I highly approve of that, and of means testing.
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson Why? That would mean some people have paid in all their lives only to have the government steal their money because some leftist dwarf like Robert Reich wants to give it to the lazy, the shiftless, the stupid and the illegal. Most "rich" people are rich because they worked hard and understand concepts that most Americans have forgotten. Concepts like, planning, deferred gratification, living within your means, hard work and sacrifice. This is a class warfare hit piece written by the Grasshoppers who want to steal what the Ants have earned. I say F you to the guy who posted it and F you to Reich.
"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?" - Stalin
This idea was first posited to me over 20 years ago by a retired Naval Captain who had several thousands of retirement income, a few thousands of rental units income, and his wife's farm rental income. His situation made this seem reasonable to me then, and it still does today. I understand the principle of your position - hell, Ronnie Reagan, et al, go theirs; just saying it's something worth considering for those whose retirement income is over 10, 15, 20K per month, or so. I wouldn't go to war over it, but it's worth discussion.
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson Life before Social Security must have been a living hell-on-earth, what with people free to succeed and fail on their own without a FedGov safety-net. Praise Be To Franklin D. Roosevelt!!!!
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson Thou shalt have no other gods before me. bible.cc/exodus/20-3.htm "In God We Trust"?? : http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/E...m/satan_on_our_dollar.htm Jeremiah 35:15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers." [ http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55421 ] But you have not paid attention or listened to me. Hosea 13:4 "But I am the LORD your God, [who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. bible.cc/hosea/13-4.htm ====================== Taming the Wild Boars A parable about taming a freedom-loving people Many, many moons ago there lived a wise farmer who noticed that wild boars roamed freely in the woods behind his farm. "If I could just capture some of those wild boars, I could fatten them up and have them work for me," he mused. The wild boars proved to be quite easily frightened and were very suspicious of any advances by the farmer. The farmer was a very patient man, though, and knew the rewards were great if he could just gain the boars' trust. The farmer set out with his plan to tame the beasts. He took corn and threw it out in the woods where the boars could safely feed under the cover of darkness. Gradually, as the boars grew less cautious, the farmer scattered the corn in a pasture located just a few yards from the farmhouse. Next, the farmer started building a fence around one side of the pasture. That night, the boars noticed this fence with some curiosity but were eager to eat the big pile of corn the farmer had left them. A few nights later, the boars noticed a second side of the fence had been erected and then a third, but the corn inside was so tempting and delicious that they gobbled it up boldly, forgetting any apprehension they had about the fence. Then one night the boars saw that there was a fence around the entire pasture with a large open gate leading into where the corn was piled. Some boars became suspicious and would not go in at the gate. A few of the bolder ones did go in, and after several nights, when no harm came to them, the others decided to join in the feast. Finally one night as the boars were busy feeding, the farmer softly walked up to the gate and closed it... I told you that story so I could tell you this one . . . Once upon a time, not so many moons ago, some great men laid down their lives to establish a country where the people could be free. But there were certain farmers of men who wished to fatten up these people and use them for their own -benefit. The farmers were very patient for they knew it would take many years to break down the strong Christian principles of these men. The strength of these people was in their love of God, their love for their neighbor, and their united family kingdoms. These farmers of men set out with the subtlety of a serpent to pervert the liberty wherewith Christ had made the people free. They wished to make the people weak and beggarly so that they would desire again to be put in bondage to men. These farmers of men, who were really beasts in disguise, set out with their plan to tame these freedom-loving people. Wars from within the states, and wars from without, along with economic chaos and family degradation were perpetrated by the beast system. These crises were the beast's way of coaxing the people to come a little closer to it. By exploiting the people's fears, the weaker ones looked to the beast's promises of care and protection. When the newfangled horseless carriage became the rage, there was much speculation about the dangers of this high-speed contraption. The beast, capitalizing on the moment, persuaded the people to seek it out to establish safety guidelines for this new hazard of the road. The beast devised a licensing plan to establish driver competency and a registration scheme for marking vehicles. All this safety and protection would be afforded drivers for a very nominal fee. In return, the beast marked them and gave them its card and some metal plates for their car. These identification marks were for the mutual benefit of everyone who sought out the beast's care and protection. A few years went by and then a great depression sent the economy plummeting to rock bottom. While some turned to God for His promise to take care of their every need, many others liked what the beast said. The beast was promoting, with much fanfare, a "wonderful" new program that would take care of men in their old age. Some people were very suspicious of this government giveaway scheme. But, like the first wild boars who ventured into the farmer's fenced pasture, it wasn't long before a few workers started reaping the benefits from this new insurance plan. Several years went by and there were very few who had not been induced to go through the gate to participate in this planned bounty. As they entered at the gate, the beast gave them its mark. The beast knew it could not have its herd running around with the power of spending real wealth. It spoke sweetly to them in a fatherly way. "You don't ever want the economic chaos of another depression, do you?" (The beast spoke with a forked tongue for it had instigated the chaos.) "Now, just trust me," said the beast. "What you need is an elastic monetary policy that will smooth out the economy and eliminate the boom and bust cycles. Just give me those heavy precious metals you've been carrying around and I will give you lightweight paper and plastic to spend. Just use your mark to put this paper in my depositories and you will receive periodic statements of your standing." Now I want you to know that the farmer who tamed the wild boars took very good care of them and they were fed well and grew up fat and sassy. But they gave up their chance to roam freely in the forest. They were marked and controlled by men. Now the farmers of men, the beast system, take good care of its once free people, too. The beast lets them work and roam quite freely as long as they carry its identification marks with them. And the people don't even mind the little marks. Why, they are backed up by some of the best arguments men have ever devised. In fact, the beast is so cunning, the people think they are still free. When the beast requires that they periodically come inside the gate to have their hides sheared, they do so dutifully. And what happens if one of these men decides not to wear the beast's marks? Then the beast's agents are sent out to prod the man back into the gate where he is locked up until he falls back into the beast's favor. Now the people don't even think about the marks, such a small inconvenience, they say. But let me remind you - they are still marks - marks made by men. They show ownership by the beast who issued the marks. Do you really think the people who have been marked and numbered in the beast's book, also will be written in the Lamb's book of life? For it is written, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." John 10:27,28 **** Yesterday, the people looked to a great and mighty God for their every need. **** These righteous people had no use for a beast that offered to take care of them in their old age or who wanted to grant them a privilege to travel. Someday, the people of today will wake up and find they have been lured inside the gate. When that happens, the beast better hope it has built a very strong fence. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:9-12 http://markofthebeast.embassyofheaven.com/boars.htm http://markofthebeast.embassyofheaven.com/index.htm ========= Who did Jesus give the Kingdom to? Who pays taxes? 24And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth [ bible.cc/psalms/2-2.htm / http://www.civil-liberties.com/books/were_you_ever_free.htm ] take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. [ the children of the King of Kings do not follow, NOR ARE THEY strangers IN THE KINGDOM OF THEIR FATHER .... in fact they, themselves are the TRUE KINGS/SOVEREIGNS under the King of kings, Rev. 5:9-10 bible.cc/revelation/5-10.htm : Clarke's Commentary on the Bible And a stranger will they not follow - That is, a man who, pretending to be a shepherd of the flock of God, is a stranger to that salvation which he professes to preach. His mode of preaching soon proves, to those whose hearts are acquainted with the truths of God, that he is a stranger to them; and therefore, knowing him to have got into the fold in an improper way [ www.csmonitor.com/2004/0915/p12s01-lire.html / www.america-betrayed-1787.com / http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/E...m/satan_on_our_dollar.htm /THE MATRIX AND THE US CONSTITUTION http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=153287 ], they consider him a thief, a robber, and a murderer; and who can blame them if they wholly desert his ministry? There are preachers of this kind among all classes. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible And a stranger will they not follow,.... One that knows not Christ, is not sent by him, and who does not preach him: but will flee from him; shun him and his ministry, as not only disagreeable, but dangerous: for they know not the voice of strangers: they do not approve of their doctrine, nor take any delight in it, or receive any profit from it. The Persic version, as before, reads, "neither will the lambs ever go after strange sheep, and if they see them, they will flee from them". ] 27Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea [ http://www.truthsetsusfree.com/AdmiraltyCourts.pdf ], and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money [ http://www.truthsetsusfree.com/HJR192.htm / http://www.truthsetsusfree.com/remedyFAQs.htm ] : that take, and give unto them for me and thee. bible.cc/john/10-5.htm Now who would be against "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" except antiChrist Jews like Robert Reich and the antiChrist Jews at the ADL/SPLC who want us to continue to be enslaved into paying tribute to the Beast under the likes of them? http://www.adl.org/mwd/redemption.asp / http://www.adl.org/learn / http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/...Roger_Elvick_arrested.asp Rather than paying into the Social Security fraud, we should be taking back the kingdom and what they stole from us, and consecrate it to the Lord. bible.cc/micah/4-13.htm / bible.cc/revelation/22-2.htm / bible.cc/john/15-16.htm we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. bible.cc/galatians/4-31.htm For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage. bible.cc/galatians/5-1.htm If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. bible.cc/john/8-36.htm
"...as long as there..remain active enemies of the Christian church, we may hope to become Master of the World...the future Jewish King will never reign in the world before Christianity is overthrown - B'nai B'rith speech http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/luther.htm / http://bible.cc/psalms/83-4.htm
#2. To: Lod (#1)
I highly approve of that, and of means testing.
#3. To: Flintlock (#2)
#4. To: tom007 (#0)
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#5. To: Lod (#1)
I highly approve of that, and of means testing.
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