Re: How to Make Social Security More Fair

On Oct 21, 7:44 pm, "Lee K" <lee_keed...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"mg" <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:1193002539.815536.287190@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Oct 21, 12:50 pm, rick++ <rick...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
One the "fixes" for SS has been the reverse of what you advocate -
increase the new benefit formal by COLA instead the WAGE INDEX.
The second grows faster than the first.

Of the taxes would be increased by the WAGE INDEX (or faster).

In the long term, basing Social Security benefits on COLA calculations
instead of the WAGE INDEX effectively destroys the Social Security
system. Doing it in the short term, only for benefit increases,
though, merely has the effect of reducing benefits from what they
would be if they were wage based. Political manipulation of inflation
numbers reduces the benefits further.

Interesting contrarians view you have: paying out more in benefits 'saves'
SS, but paying out less 'destroys' it. Almost everyone else has it that in
order to save SS some combination of benefit cuts, tax increases, and an
increase in retirement age is necessary.

How is it that accelerating benefit growth 'saves' SS'?

Indexing annual increases on payments by either using an honest COLA
or indexing to wages would increase Social Security costs, but I look
at it as a matter of fairness in giving them what they are entitled to
under current law. That's assuming, of course, that the COLA numbers
are being rigged. I don't believe that honest COLA indexing or
indexing by wages would increase cost by a lot.

Indexing the initial benefit amount to COLA, instead of Wages would
have the effect of killing the Social Security system eventually.

I do believe that a combination of higher taxes and benefit cuts will
be required to make Social Security solvent. I think the best solution
is to eliminate the cap on taxes and increase the retirement age. I
don't believe that cheating retirees by providing fraudulent COLA
figures (if that's what's happening) is an acceptable method of
cutting costs.

.

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