That darn Social Security crisis!

Social Security is running out of money! There won't be enough money when we need it! Privatize it!

Wow. Where would we be right now if President Bush's 2004 big push to privatize Social Security had gone ahead? Broke, that's where.

There really is a crisis in Social Security, it really is running out of money, but the solution is simple. In 2007, your FICA deduction from your paycheck was 6.2%, but only on the first $97,500 you earned. Everything above that amount was not subject to the FICA deductions. The amount may have gone up this year, it does go up, if I remember correctly, back in the early 90's it was around $75,000. Anyway, after you reach the cut off, you've paid your Social Security contributions for the year. So that means, the maximum any one person would contribute (as of 2007) was $6,045. The current cap may be $102,000.

Through the years, Dan and I have had the privilege of being above the Social Security income cap. Not every year, but quite a few years. When that happened, and the deduction was no longer taken out of his check, it was definitely a nice thing, having a little extra money, but it just seemed silly to me. All of my adult life, I've heard that Social Security wouldn't be there for me when I needed it...so why have the cap? 6.2% isn't a lot of money, and if people earning under $25,000 a year can afford 6.2% of their income, why can't people earning $250,000? Or $2,500,000? I mean think about it. Those people with the golden parachutes at AIG and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only paid $6,045 into Social Security in 2007. The CEO of Exxon Mobile paid $6,045 into Social Security in 2007.

Once we are over this bubble in the population, the baby boomers that are beginning to collect Social Security, this won't really be an issue, but for the next couple of decades, we need more money coming into the system.

Apparently Senator Chris Dodd's office calculated that if they removed the income cap on the Social Security tax, that is if everyone paid the same percentage on everything that they earned, there would immediately be enough money in the system for the next 75 years. That should get us through that Baby Boom Bubble!

Now I'm sure we all aspire to be above that Social Security income cap, but can't we agree that it wouldn't really hurt that much to continue to pay 6.2% on every dollar above that cap? I think we can all agree, it wouldn't really pose a hardship. I speak from experience, it wouldn't have hurt a bit. We need to remove that income cap.

Keep in mind, Luke 12.48: "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded." (Oxford NRSV Bible) Perhaps the Gates Foundation says it a little more succinctly, "* To whom much has been given, much is expected."