Bert Dirschell
Centertown
Dear Editor:
Democrats are proposing to "fix" Social Security by making it even more of a tool for wealth redistribution. Everyone should understand that both Social Security and Medicare are massive federal government wealth redistribution tools. Democrats now want to increase the income redistribution aspect of Social Security.
The Great Socialist Franklin Roosevelt, with the backing of federal politicians who understood that votes could be bought with free stuff, forced Social Security on us in 1935. The Supreme Court initially rejected most of Roosevelt's New Deal (big government free stuff) programs. After Roosevelt won re-election in 1936, people loved the promises of more free stuff, he cowed the Supreme Court with threats to "pack it" with new justices appointed by him. The cowed court became more interested in being PC than in adhering to the Constitution.
From 1937-49 workers, and their employers paid 1 percent of their first $3,000 ($53,000 in 2018 dollars) of earnings into the Social Security Trust Fund. The maximum combined annual tax was $1,060, in 2018 dollars. Since 1990 the rate has been 6.2 percent. Last year a person making $128,400 paid $15,921 (half directly from worker, half from employer) into the Trust Fund.
A person making $10/hour, and his/her employer, paid $2,579 into the Trust Fund in 2018. The $128,400 worker will pay 6.2 times as much in taxes yet receive only 3.3 times the benefit. Let's call it what it is, another massive federal income redistribution scheme.
Rep. John Larson has submitted a proposal that would immediately raise the maximum level of taxable income to $400,000. It would also slowly raise the tax rate to 7.4 percent and make the tax/benefit payout even more lopsided. Under Rep. Larson's plan the $10/hour worker, and his/her employer, would still pay $2,579 while the $400,000 earner, and his/her employer, would pay $49,600, just in Social Security taxes. This doesn't even include Social Security disability and Medicare taxes.
Politicians will never be satisfied until they have control of every dollar you and I have earned, or will ever earn.