Regarding the Oct. 6 editorial “Entitlement inaction could be our undoing”:
The Herald is correct, we do need to reform entitlements, including Social Security. Social Security is solvent for the next 20-plus years without any changes. But we should immediately lift the cap ($80,000) on wages that currently exists and subject all wages to the Social Security (FICA) tax. Currently a worker who makes $40,000 has 100 percent of their wages taxed for Social Security and a worker who makes $800,000 has only 10 percent of his wages taxed. How can anyone defend this policy? Everyone should pay the FICA tax on all their wages; that’s the only fair approach.
Tens of millions of workers at the top of the income bracket do not pay their fair share into this valuable insurance program, but they all want to take money out when they retire. As someone who broke the FICA limits for over 30 years, I have always wondered how this system can be defended. The top 1 percent of income earners pay Social Security taxes on less than 4 percent of their wages, while the middle class and working poor pay the tax on 100 percnet of their wages. We need to change the system and tax all wages for Social Security. It is the only fair way to manage this program and it will help keep the system solvent for decades to come.
Mike Mitte
Edmonds
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