Update!!! My mistake -- Until I read the comments I just plum forgot that Obama is a demi-god and every policy out of his mouth is from the lips of the messiah. So by God, if wants to raise raise social security taxes on single wage earner households even though we all know damn well it is never going to be used for social security, then our duty is to stand up and salute like good little soliders. The policies of Obama MUST NOT be questioned.
Is this what we have to look forward to if he wins? I think we found our party's George Bush and his followers.
Obama's own words, from his web site:
"Obama believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes. Obama supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security and he will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security solvent for at least the next half century"
Raising payroll taxes is a tried and true way for Republicans to make up for deficits caused by income tax cuts for the wealthiest, and their own fiscal irresponsibility. The last president to do so was Ronald Reagan himself, after his huge income tax cuts left large budget deficits. It's puzzling to see Obama take a page right from the Reagan playbook when it comes to Social Security and FICA taxes. And it opens the door to presuming a solvency issue where none really exists if we revert to the fiscally responsible years of the Clinton presidency.
Increasing FICA taxes, whether through an increase in the cap, or just raising the tax rate is a tried and true Republican tactic to shift taxes from the middle class and redistribute them to the wealthy and corporations in the form of reduced income taxes.
You might claim that those making over $100K a year aren't middle class - but for a single wage earner with a family to support it's not going to put you in the lap of luxury if you live anywhere near the west coast or in many urban areas in the east. But even if you do think those folks are living a life of luxury at $100K a year it still doesn't make to increase FICA taxes to essentially pay for non-SSI funding.
What is the rationale for increasing FICA taxes when there is already hundreds of billions on FICA surplus that is effectively being used to make up for the lost revenue from Bush's tax breaks for millionaires? How is Social Security strengthed by raising FICA taxes? There's no "lockbox," and Obama is not proposing one.
It's a bit complicated, but here is what it amounts to:
- Cut income taxes for wealthiest and corporations
- Use FICA tax money to make up for the lost revenue
- Run even bigger deficits that add to the national debt
- Then claim the debt is too high, so that means we won't be able to fund SSI in 30, 40, whatever years
- So, we have to raise FICA taxes
- Then start at step one again, and go through the whole cycle over
Clinton's plan is the same plan that worked perfectly when Bill was in office. Make the wealthy pay their fair share of income tax, fund the government that way, balance the budget (don't spend more than you take in), and use the FICA surpluses to pay down the debt.
Doesn't that sound more sane to you?