I Agree With Obama on Something???
A little commentary on the news of the day.
First, I am shocked to discover I actually agree with Senator Barak Obama on something. Today’s paper reports that Obama calls for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 a year. Normally I strictly oppose higher taxes on anything.
But here’s the deal. Way back when I was a young lawyer, I was making a pretty decent wage, and there detailed on my pay-stub every month was that bite taken out for social security. Sure, it annoyed me, but it was what it was.
Then one day in June, I think it was, my paycheck was suddenly higher. Did I get a raise nobody told me about? I asked my colleagues, who smiled and said I had capped out on the social security tax. That was when I first learned that social security taxes were only paid on the first so many dollars a person earned. It didn’t make sense to me then, that taxes end on the higher-income earners, but I was happy. More money in my pocket.
Fast-forward to today. My son, a sophomore in college, is making minimum wage in an office job at school. A little perk is that the school is letting him live in the dorm for the summer, gratis. However, the school is reporting as income to him the value of free-rent. So when my son got his first paycheck, not only is there a handsome bite taken out of his meager wages for social security, he’s also paying social security on a percentage of the value of the dorm arrangement, when he hasn’t received an actual dime to pay for it.
Can someone please explain to me why anyone making minimum wage is paying into social security at all, while people making over $102,000 (this year) are not subject to the tax on anything exceeding $102,000?
Here’s my proposal: no payroll taxes on minimum wage jobs. No taxes paid by teenagers (or maybe anyone) earning less than $12,000/year. Obama is calling for keeping the payroll tax on wages up to $102,000, and imposing it on those earning more than $250,000. He doesn’t want to hurt the “middle class” (i.e. me) by imposing the tax on people in the middle (those who earn between $102,000 and $250,000).
Personally, I see no reason why people earning between $102,000 and $250,000 should be exempt. In other words, I say set a floor on the wages subject to social security, and remove the ceiling. It only seems logical. (Notice I don't say "fair". There is nothing "fair" about a progressive tax system. "Fair" would be treating everyone the same, as with a flat tax. But progressive is what we've got, so let's just be consistent and do what's logical.)
More in the news:
On a related subject, McCain says he’s not for privatization of social security. In the same breath he says he supports private savings accounts for young people for social security. This guy wants to be on both sides. I say, have some cajones and take a stand. Personally I think private accounts are a good idea. Over time the return is astronomically higher than the paltry 2% we get from the government. Do we get even that?
On another related subject, Mike Huckabee is joining Fox News. The story says Huckabee “has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Mr. McCain.”
Let me go on record as saying I will stay home on election day if McCain is dumb enough to put someone as ignorant as Mike Huckabee on the ticket. He’s uneducated. He’s a simpleton. He's a freak show. I’d rather live with four, or eight, years of socialist rule under Barak Obama. And I’m a Republican. I voted for Reagan twice, GHW Bush twice, GW Bush twice.
One last thing, completely unrelated. My condolences to Tim Russert’s family. I knew him only as the rest of the public did, from television. But he struck me as a very nice, decent, very knowledgeable and likeable guy. He asked questions of public officials that I would have asked. He understood the important issues. He wasn’t arrogant. He seemed like someone you could have over for dinner. He seemed like a class act. I didn’t even know him, but I feel sad that he died, too soon, too young.
First, I am shocked to discover I actually agree with Senator Barak Obama on something. Today’s paper reports that Obama calls for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 a year. Normally I strictly oppose higher taxes on anything.
But here’s the deal. Way back when I was a young lawyer, I was making a pretty decent wage, and there detailed on my pay-stub every month was that bite taken out for social security. Sure, it annoyed me, but it was what it was.
Then one day in June, I think it was, my paycheck was suddenly higher. Did I get a raise nobody told me about? I asked my colleagues, who smiled and said I had capped out on the social security tax. That was when I first learned that social security taxes were only paid on the first so many dollars a person earned. It didn’t make sense to me then, that taxes end on the higher-income earners, but I was happy. More money in my pocket.
Fast-forward to today. My son, a sophomore in college, is making minimum wage in an office job at school. A little perk is that the school is letting him live in the dorm for the summer, gratis. However, the school is reporting as income to him the value of free-rent. So when my son got his first paycheck, not only is there a handsome bite taken out of his meager wages for social security, he’s also paying social security on a percentage of the value of the dorm arrangement, when he hasn’t received an actual dime to pay for it.
Can someone please explain to me why anyone making minimum wage is paying into social security at all, while people making over $102,000 (this year) are not subject to the tax on anything exceeding $102,000?
Here’s my proposal: no payroll taxes on minimum wage jobs. No taxes paid by teenagers (or maybe anyone) earning less than $12,000/year. Obama is calling for keeping the payroll tax on wages up to $102,000, and imposing it on those earning more than $250,000. He doesn’t want to hurt the “middle class” (i.e. me) by imposing the tax on people in the middle (those who earn between $102,000 and $250,000).
Personally, I see no reason why people earning between $102,000 and $250,000 should be exempt. In other words, I say set a floor on the wages subject to social security, and remove the ceiling. It only seems logical. (Notice I don't say "fair". There is nothing "fair" about a progressive tax system. "Fair" would be treating everyone the same, as with a flat tax. But progressive is what we've got, so let's just be consistent and do what's logical.)
More in the news:
On a related subject, McCain says he’s not for privatization of social security. In the same breath he says he supports private savings accounts for young people for social security. This guy wants to be on both sides. I say, have some cajones and take a stand. Personally I think private accounts are a good idea. Over time the return is astronomically higher than the paltry 2% we get from the government. Do we get even that?
On another related subject, Mike Huckabee is joining Fox News. The story says Huckabee “has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Mr. McCain.”
Let me go on record as saying I will stay home on election day if McCain is dumb enough to put someone as ignorant as Mike Huckabee on the ticket. He’s uneducated. He’s a simpleton. He's a freak show. I’d rather live with four, or eight, years of socialist rule under Barak Obama. And I’m a Republican. I voted for Reagan twice, GHW Bush twice, GW Bush twice.
One last thing, completely unrelated. My condolences to Tim Russert’s family. I knew him only as the rest of the public did, from television. But he struck me as a very nice, decent, very knowledgeable and likeable guy. He asked questions of public officials that I would have asked. He understood the important issues. He wasn’t arrogant. He seemed like someone you could have over for dinner. He seemed like a class act. I didn’t even know him, but I feel sad that he died, too soon, too young.
posted by calabresewoman | 10:57 AM
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