Why should Congressmen be putting in the same amount of money into the Social Security system as people who make half their salaries?
My concept is pretty basic: everyone agrees that one of the simplest ways to fix Social Security is to raise payroll taxes. Right now the amount of income where payroll taxes are deducted is capped at $90,000. Many people believe the cap should be raised, but no one seems to be able to decide on a simple standard for setting a new cap.
My proposal is that we raise the cap to match the salary of our Representatives and Senators, which is currently $165,200. Every vote taken to increase their salaries would cause the cap would rise accordingly. This might encourage some people to take a long, hard look in the mirror the next time Congress wants to give itself a raise.
It would be great if there were some members willing to run on this idea since it clearly shows them putting their own interests on the line with everyone else's.
To put it simply: Congress should pay what we pay.
(FYI: If you were under the impression that Congress doesn't pay Social Security taxes, that hasn't been the case since 1983.)