RETIREMENT BENEFITS
What if Everyone Got an Equal Share?
Social Security, simplified.
The U.S. Social Security program is failing. It’s going broke. The fund trustees remind us in their annual report every March. Many clever people have suggested ways to fix it. The SSA has run the numbers and calculated how each proposal could creatively solve part of the problem.
The problem is that the current shortfall is 3.42 percent of US payroll. One solution is to raise payroll taxes by that same amount to make the program financially solvent. I like this solution — it’s simple.
Everybody (well, not the very wealthy) would pay an additional 3.42 percent in payroll taxes. That’s only an additional three-and-a-half cents more per dollar you earn. However, policymakers will struggle to support this.
How Soon Could it be Fixed?
Politicians will keep suggesting solutions that make them look good in the media and have their constituents believe they are working on it (well, not in August of any year, as you can see by their calendars). And September through November are often focused only on a Continuing Resolution.
It’s rare that anything gets done during the December holiday season. That takes us to January. But, nothing…