The tax cuts to the rich would not have been possible without the surplus in the Social Security tax fund. And who pays the Social Security tax? Not the wealthy. They cap out at $87,000 this year. After that they don’t pay a dime. Everyone else pays 6.2 percent this year on the first dollar they make with no exemptions or deductions. The smallest employer, with even one employee has to match this. The self-employed pay 12.4 percent. The Social Security surplus is $1.421 trillion as of the end of April of this year.
Unfortunately, this has all been spent on tax cuts for the rich, thereby transferring wealth from the very poorest in our society to the very wealthiest. Yes, this spending is replaced by IOUs, which will have to be redeemed when the “baby boomers” begin to retire. This means we’ll either have to raise taxes or cut benefits or both. Class warfare? Sure! But who created the classes?
Everett
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