The Biggest Contrast in the Upcoming Election (Other Than Democracy vs. "Blood in the Streets" Fascism)
Here’s the thing: Income subject to the payroll tax is capped. Not a single dollar of earnings in excess of the cap is subject to Social Security payroll taxes. This year’s cap is $168,600.
Which means, for example, that Jeff Bezos finished paying all his Social Security payroll taxes due this year at around 7 minutes into January 1.
The Social Security cap is adjusted every year for inflation, but the adjustment is tiny compared to what’s happened to incomes at the top.
As the rich have become far richer, more and more of the total income earned by Americans has become concentrated at the top. Therefore, more and more total income escapes the Social Security payroll tax.
The obvious solution to Social Security’s funding shortfall, therefore, is to lift the cap on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax, so the super-rich pay more in Social Security taxes.
To make sure it’s the super-rich — and not the upper-middle class — who pay, it makes sense to eliminate the cap altogether on earnings in excess of, say, $400,000.
As it happens, Biden’s plan does exactly this.
So there you have it: Trump and his regressive mouthpieces want to cut Social Security so they can give another giant tax cut to the super-rich.
Biden wants to save Social Security by having the super-rich — who have become far richer over the past several decades — pay more Social Security taxes.
The contrast couldn’t be more obvious or more important. Please help get the word out.
