To the Editor:
Americans pay into Social Security year after year. We deserve to know how the candidates would keep it strong for us, and our children and grandchildren.
All I hear from …
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To the Editor:
Americans pay into Social Security year after year. We deserve to know how the candidates would keep it strong for us, and our children and grandchildren.
All I hear from presidential candidates on how to make Social Security financially sound is “blah, blah, blah.” Employer pensions are disappearing. Health care costs keep going up and people are living until their 80s, 90s and above. If our leaders don’t act, future retirees could lose up to 25 percent in benefits.
We deserve to know where the candidates stand on this important issue before we decide who to vote for. Enough of the blah blahs. What’s your plan? Before Rhode Islanders go to the polls on April 26, they deserve answers.
Charles Dress
Warwick
5 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
JohnStark
Mr. Dress: Thank you for bringing up this important subject. Clearly, the ONLY solution to the Social Security dilemma is to phase it out. Current retirees reap benefits that far exceed what they ever paid into the system. Don't forget, the income cap for payments was as low as $3000 as late as 1968. Meanwhile, the mandate that young workers pay into this Ponzi scheme is nothing short of obscene. These folks would be much far better off in a privatized system. They would not only have a much higher retirement income, but taxpayers would no longer be on the hook for the retirement of others. A win-win. Thanks again.
Thursday, April 7, 2016 Report this
davebarry109
As of today, we are 100% in debt at 19.2 trillion $. That means we owe everything we produce. This is akin to making 75k a year and owing 75k. Every year. Not like a mortgage. Forget Soc. Security. Prepare for retirement without it.
Friday, April 8, 2016 Report this
HerbTokerman
So if you propose to phase it out, will i get a refund for what i've paid in to the system my entire life?
To make social security solvent simply lift the income cap so that the wealthy are paying a fair percentage in to it as well.
It's just silly that people only need to pay in for the first 116k of income when some people are making millions of dollars a year.
Sunday, April 10, 2016 Report this
JohnStark
Herb: First, the wage cap for 2016 is $118,500. Second, not sure what you mean by "fair percentage" for the wealthy. If someone making a million dollars paid into the system with no income cap, they would pay an additional $54,653. That's about 7.5 times what they're already paying. Naturally, they should expect to reap an additional benefit proportional to their additional contributions. Presently, the maximum benefit for a 70 year old who has waited until that age to claim his benefit is about $3500/mo. That would go to $26,529 PER MONTH under your proposal of having no income cap, or $318,354 per year. Not sure you'd support that. Your question about a refund is a reasonable one. If you're over 60, I propose you'd be stuck with the current broken system. 50-60, you could opt for a 75% refund. 40-50 could elect for a 50% refund. 30-40, 35% (sorry). Under 30, you could opt out altogether, as most young workers want to do, anyway. And btw, those who are self-employed do not pay at a rate of 6.2%, but rather 12.4% with no proportional increase in benefit. Again, it's a Ponzi scheme, and a cruel hoax for younger workers.
Monday, April 11, 2016 Report this
davebarry109
Herb, as someone who paid the max into social security, 116,000 is enough!
Thursday, April 14, 2016 Report this