About – Underground Politics

SAVING OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM, FUNDING A NATIONAL HEALTHCARE PLAN FOR RETIRED SOCIAL SECURITY EARNERS AND CREATING JOB OPPORTUNITIES

FACTS:
1. Our Social Security System was designed for a 1935 world which does not fit the needs of the current century. In 1935, men were the majority workers and women typically stayed at home to raise the children. Today, approximately 60% of women work outside the home. In addition, the average life span for most Americans was much shorter than today’s standards. Therefore, many did not live long enough to collect social security benefits. Today, life expectancy continues to rise to an age of 75 to 79 years old. As people become more health conscientious life expectancy will only increase over time.
2. Social Security is currently a “pay as you go” program which means today’s workers are paying the benefits for today’s social security recipients.
3. There are fewer workers supporting retirees. In 1935 there were 40 workers supporting one retiree. In 1950 we had 16 workers supporting one social security beneficiary. Today, there are only 3.3 workers supporting one beneficiary. And when our youngest workers turn 65, there will be 2 workers supporting one beneficiary.
4. When the baby boomers begin to retire the Social Security program will be stressed beyond its limits. It is estimated that by 2031 there will be twice as many older Americans than we have today; some 71 million people.
5. In 2017, 8 years from now, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes in according to the Social Security Trustees. And every year after 2017 the shortfall of money going into the fund will be much greater than the previous year forcing Social Security to eventually go bankrupt.

AMERICA’S GOAL:
Social Security has been a cornerstone of our country’s heritage and a critical source of income for retired and disabled workers. It has been estimated that for one third of all Americans over age 65, social security benefits constitute 90% of their total income. Therefore, as a country and a people of compassion, we need to fix our system and make it viable for generations to come.

SOLUTION:
The solution is quite simple. Wages and earnings up to a certain limit set by the Federal government has always been taxable as far as social security is concerned. In 2007 the earnings limit was $ 97,000 and in 2008 it was increased to $ 102,000. Therefore, if an individual earns more than $ 102,000, that additional income is not subject to any social security tax. For example, if an individual wage earner in 2008 makes $ 250,000, the first $ 102,000 is taxed for social security purposes and balance of $ 148,000 is not. Ultimately this individual will have a little more money to take home and spend, invest, whatever. Herein lies the solution. I believe that the time has come to bring this program up to the 21st century. The earnings limitation set by the Federal government has not been properly adjusted to include the accelerated compensation that we have seen in this country over the past decade. I believe that all earned income ( wages, bonuses, etc. ) should be subject to the social security tax percentage regardless of the amount an individual earns. We can phase this change in over a 3 year period or implement it sooner if necessary. Why you ask? Well there are hundreds of thousand of wage earners who make in excess of $ 102,000 per year. And, the number keeps growing. People who are political leaders, athletes, sports announcers, radio talk show hosts, TV celebrities, business owners, doctors, lawyers, executives of most companies in America, executives of non-for-profit businesses, land developers, real estate agents, stock brokers, school superintendents, school principles and teachers in major US cities, movie producers, movie stars, record company executives, most employees working for Microsoft, need I say more. The list is endless. Compensation has gotten way out of control. For example an athlete who makes millions of dollars per year, or a CEO who gets millions in a year end bonus. Our social security system has not allowed for this type of acceleration in earnings. Why should these individuals stop paying into social security after their first
$ 102,000. This is America! And these individuals probably wouldn’t be earning this type of money if they lived in most other countries. And if they did they would be taxed at a much higher rate than in the US.

THE PLAN:
The plan is easy to implement. Set a date of 2011, 3 years from now to eliminate the earnings limit set by the Feds. Starting in 2009, the limit is raised to $ 10,000,000. In 2010 it goes to $ 50,000,000. In 2011, there is no limit. All wages , bonuses, etc. will be subject to social security tax plain and simple. This could be accelerated if we as a nation decide to move this up to say 2 years.

WHAT WE AS A NATION STAND TO GAIN:
I would venture to say that after a couple of years under this revision, there would be so much money in the social security fund that we could make the following changes that would help America grow and prosper:
1. We can maintain the 7.5% tax for decades to come and never need to raise the tax percentage again (this in itself would be quite an accomplishment when you consider doing nothing today to fix our current system will probably resort in increases to the social security tax to levels of 20% – 25% out of workers paychecks). If we maintained the 7.5% with no limit we could use the surplus to help fund a national health plan for social security retirees. Much like an 80/20 Blue Cross indemnity health plan with co-pays, deductibles, yet at no cost to the social security recipient to have this insurance plan. Just think, we would not have to keep extending the social security age limit to qualify for benefits. This could help create jobs for younger workers by giving current working Americans an opportunity to retire and not work till they die. I firmly believe that if provided a guaranteed income (social security) and a health insurance plan of some sort, many older working Americans would retire even in our current economic climate. If people retire they will hopefully be replaced by a younger person who currently does not have an opportunity to get a job and earn a living. The unemployment rate in this country could possibly stop growing and may even decline if there were job opportunities again. The only way for this to happen is if older workers have an incentive to retire. Social Security and health insurance could be the catalyst. Also there would be an incentive for companies to hire new employees and train these new workers. They could take advantage of government tax credits. Companies will be able to write off the wage earners first year compensation in order to train new employees to obtain the skills and abilities necessary to replace the retiring workers. This was happening in the early 1980’s. Its a win-win situation for all Americans who want to retire and companies that need to replace skills they would be losing. This is how America functioned for decades prior to thousands of jobs moving overseas.
2. Another possible benefit of building a surplus in the social security fund is that we could possibly lower the social security tax percentage down to 3% – 4% in say 5 – 10 years. Thus giving those who earn considerably less money a little more take home pay for food, clothing, rent, the necessities. This would also be beneficial to those who earn considerably more money (the group which was mentioned earlier in the solution paragraph). What is 3% – 4% deducted out of the millions some people earn. A drop in the bucket for these folks. But yet 3% more in the pocket of someone earning $ 20,000 to $ 25,0000 is a blessing.

SUMMARY:
I am sure there are other things we could do to help secure and improve our failing social security system. But as an American I believe that the time to act is now to do what is right for the good of our great country. If we do not act quickly the cost to repair or worse yet to eliminate this program could be unimaginable. If it fails then we as a nation fail too! Our country will never be the same, never recover. As someone once said, if you’re not part of the solution then you must be part of the problem! It is time to address the problems of our great nation and to come up with ways to get our country back on track.

2 thoughts on “About”

Tony says:

October 15, 2009 at 6:11 pm

Democrats versus republicans? whats that like… yankees vs red sox? or how bout J.P Morgan versus John D. Rockefeller? Cant have a fair fight between two teams when the owner of both is the same.

I always say “follow the money.” If this is all about money… Whose making it now?

Great article, thanks.
Mike says:

December 24, 2009 at 1:46 pm

SAVING OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM, FUNDING A NATIONAL HEALTHCARE PLAN FOR RETIRED SOCIAL SECURITY EARNERS AND CREATING JOB OPPORTUNITIES

FACTS:
1. Our Social Security System was designed for a 1935 world which does not fit the needs of the current century. In 1935, men were the majority workers and women typically stayed at home to raise the children. Today, approximately 60% of women work outside the home. In addition, the average life span for most Americans was much shorter than today’s standards. Therefore, many did not live long enough to collect social security benefits. Today, life expectancy continues to rise to an age of 75 to 79 years old. As people become more health conscientious life expectancy will only increase over time.
2. Social Security is currently a “pay as you go” program which means today’s workers are paying the benefits for today’s social security recipients.
3. There are fewer workers supporting retirees. In 1935 there were 40 workers supporting one retiree. In 1950 we had 16 workers supporting one social security beneficiary. Today, there are only 3.3 workers supporting one beneficiary. And when our youngest workers turn 65, there will be 2 workers supporting one beneficiary.
4. When the baby boomers begin to retire the Social Security program will be stressed beyond its limits. It is estimated that by 2031 there will be twice as many older Americans than we have today; some 71 million people.
5. In 2017, 8 years from now, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes in according to the Social Security Trustees. And every year after 2017 the shortfall of money going into the fund will be much greater than the previous year forcing Social Security to eventually go bankrupt.

AMERICA’S GOAL:
Social Security has been a cornerstone of our country’s heritage and a critical source of income for retired and disabled workers. It has been estimated that for one third of all Americans over age 65, social security benefits constitute 90% of their total income. Therefore, as a country and a people of compassion, we need to fix our system and make it viable for generations to come.

SOLUTION:
The solution is quite simple. Wages and earnings up to a certain limit set by the Federal government has always been taxable as far as social security is concerned. In 2007 the earnings limit was $ 97,000 and in 2008 it was increased to $ 102,000. Therefore, if an individual earns more than $ 102,000, that additional income is not subject to any social security tax. For example, if an individual wage earner in 2008 makes $ 250,000, the first $ 102,000 is taxed for social security purposes and balance of $ 148,000 is not. Ultimately this individual will have a little more money to take home and spend, invest, whatever. Herein lies the solution. I believe that the time has come to bring this program up to the 21st century. The earnings limitation set by the Federal government has not been properly adjusted to include the accelerated compensation that we have seen in this country over the past decade. I believe that all earned income ( wages, bonuses, etc. ) should be subject to the social security tax percentage regardless of the amount an individual earns. We can phase this change in over a 3 year period or implement it sooner if necessary. Why you ask? Well there are hundreds of thousand of wage earners who make in excess of $ 102,000 per year. And, the number keeps growing. People who are political leaders, athletes, sports announcers, radio talk show hosts, TV celebrities, business owners, doctors, lawyers, executives of most companies in America, executives of non-for-profit businesses, land developers, real estate agents, stock brokers, school superintendents, school principles and teachers in major US cities, movie producers, movie stars, record company executives, most employees working for Microsoft, need I say more. The list is endless. Compensation has gotten way out of control. For example an athlete who makes millions of dollars per year, or a CEO who gets millions in a year end bonus. Our social security system has not allowed for this type of acceleration in earnings. Why should these individuals stop paying into social security after their first
$ 102,000. This is America! And these individuals probably wouldn’t be earning this type of money if they lived in most other countries. And if they did they would be taxed at a much higher rate than in the US.

THE PLAN:
The plan is easy to implement. Set a date of 2011, 3 years from now to eliminate the earnings limit set by the Feds. Starting in 2009, the limit is raised to $ 10,000,000. In 2010 it goes to $ 50,000,000. In 2011, there is no limit. All wages , bonuses, etc. will be subject to social security tax plain and simple. This could be accelerated if we as a nation decide to move this up to say 2 years.

WHAT WE AS A NATION STAND TO GAIN:
I would venture to say that after a couple of years under this revision, there would be so much money in the social security fund that we could make the following changes that would help America grow and prosper:
1. We can maintain the 7.5% tax for decades to come and never need to raise the tax percentage again (this in itself would be quite an accomplishment when you consider doing nothing today to fix our current system will probably resort in increases to the social security tax to levels of 20% – 25% out of workers paychecks). If we maintained the 7.5% with no limit we could use the surplus to help fund a national health plan for social security retirees. Much like an 80/20 Blue Cross indemnity health plan with co-pays, deductibles, yet at no cost to the social security recipient to have this insurance plan. Just think, we would not have to keep extending the social security age limit to qualify for benefits. This could help create jobs for younger workers by giving current working Americans an opportunity to retire and not work till they die. I firmly believe that if provided a guaranteed income (social security) and a health insurance plan of some sort, many older working Americans would retire even in our current economic climate. If people retire they will hopefully be replaced by a younger person who currently does not have an opportunity to get a job and earn a living. The unemployment rate in this country could possibly stop growing and may even decline if there were job opportunities again. The only way for this to happen is if older workers have an incentive to retire. Social Security and health insurance could be the catalyst. Also there would be an incentive for companies to hire new employees and train these new workers. They could take advantage of government tax credits. Companies will be able to write off the wage earners first year compensation in order to train new employees to obtain the skills and abilities necessary to replace the retiring workers. This was happening in the early 1980’s. Its a win-win situation for all Americans who want to retire and companies that need to replace skills they would be losing. This is how America functioned for decades prior to thousands of jobs moving overseas.
2. Another possible benefit of building a surplus in the social security fund is that we could possibly lower the social security tax percentage down to 3% – 4% in say 5 – 10 years. Thus giving those who earn considerably less money a little more take home pay for food, clothing, rent, the necessities. This would also be beneficial to those who earn considerably more money (the group which was mentioned earlier in the solution paragraph). What is 3% – 4% deducted out of the millions some people earn. A drop in the bucket for these folks. But yet 3% more in the pocket of someone earning $ 20,000 to $ 25,0000 is a blessing.

SUMMARY:
I am sure there are other things we could do to help secure and improve our failing social security system. But as an American I believe that the time to act is now to do what is right for the good of our great country. If we do not act quickly the cost to repair or worse yet to eliminate this program could be unimaginable. If it fails then we as a nation fail too! Our country will never be the same, never recover. As someone once said, if you’re not part of the solution then you must be part of the problem! It is time to address the problems of our great nation and to come up with ways to get our country back on track.

2 thoughts on “About”

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