Here's a thought on "Chained CPI"
Before we ask seniors to sacrifice benefits in the name of budget constraints, how 'bout asking the members of the House and Senate to contribute the same percentage of their incomes into the Social Security Trust as the people they represent? Call it “chained politician.”
For example Paul Ryan, like all Members of Congress, “earns” about $170,000 a year but only pays Social Security tax on $113,700 (due to the social security cap), whereas the median family income for a family of four in Wisconsin is $77,829. This means that Ryan pays social security tax on about 2/3 of his income while most of the people he’s supposed to represent (and who pay his salary) are taxed on 100% of their income.
...
We can anticipate all the reasons Ryan and his pals will oppose any adjustment to the cap. Yet we know that the reason working people pay a higher percentage of their income in social security taxes than Paul Ryan, and the reason income from work is taxed at a higher rate than income from investments is the same: Ryan and his ilk really represent the wealthy individuals and institutions that bankroll their campaigns.
Still, it would be nice if a member of the House Progressive Caucus asked the CBO to score a bill that raises the cap to $170,000 per year if for no other reason than common decency demands that Members of Congress explain to their constituents why they deserve to pay a lower tax rate than those they ostensibly serve.