Obama Will Screw The Wealthy
by Big Dog on Jun 13, 2008 at 16:16 Political
I know the idea of screwing the wealthy appeals to many people though I personally don’t understand that mentality. With regard to Social Security and retirement, the idea always appeals to liberals. Social Security is a mechanism with which the government keeps people in poverty because the government controls the fund (which is a misnomer because there is no dedicated fund). The government gets less than a 1% return on the money in Social Security and yet they refuse to consider privatizing at least a portion of it. The presumptive nominee Barack Obama used the current stock market tumbles to stress the point that if retirement money had been tied up in the market people would be hurting right about now. The fact is, they still would have earned more than SS does and they would have the potential to earn unlimited amounts and to receive unlimited amounts in retirement. With SS, one is capped no matter how much income the person made in his lifetime.
Obama wants to increase the amount of Social Security taxes one pays if income is over $250,000. He also wants to raise the cap on the amount that is subject to SS deduction. Obama believes that it is unfair for people making under the cap amount to pay SS on 100% of their income while those who earn more than the cap don’t pay on the portion of income above it. This sounds fair but it is not. People who make a lot of money and who do not begin drawing benefits early are capped on how much they may receive. At about $150,000 the monthly benefit (for 2008) is $2381. It stays at this number regardless of how much money a person makes above the $150,000 so a person who makes $250,000 (or even a million dollars) still only gets $2381. If Obama wants to talk about fairness, how fair is it that they are capped on what they may receive when those who make below $150,000 will get a benefit based upon 100% of their earnings?
As far as privatizing Social Security goes, it is the only proper thing to do. As it stands right now, money is collected from workers and paid to those who are currently drawing benefits. Workers who die prior to retirement lose what they have paid in. Reduced benefits can be paid to spouses but this does not take away from the fact that when you pay it in you lose it, it is no longer yours and you cannot pass it on to your heirs as you could with money you put away in savings or in the stock market. Workers who put a portion of their SS deductions into a private account would make more money and be able to retire on more than $2381 a month. They would also be able to pass the money on to their heirs. The government does not like this because people who are financially independent do not depend on the government and have no need for more social programs. Politicians can’t scare old people for votes if those people are well off.
Obama is a Socialist who believes in redistribution of wealth. He talks about fairness but his ideas are no where near fair. Wealthy people pay almost all the taxes in this country and the liberals keep tapping them for more and more. It is not right and it should not be tolerated.
If only people in this country learned the value of saving and how they could take care of themselves we could all retire in better shape and without government intrusion. Unfortunately, people have come to rely on government for everything. Social Security to the elderly is like crack cocaine to a junkie. Once they get it they are so tied to it they will vote for anyone who promises to protect it.
If they had been able to invest in their youth they would not have an addiction to government.
Source:
WBAL (via AP)
Quick Benefits Calculator (SSA)
Tags: Obama, rich people, social security, socialism, taxes