Saving Social Security's dishonesty

[pechuna]

"In the congressional debate over repealing the estate (aka death) tax, Democrats routinely invoked Paris Hilton as an example of someone who wouldn't be hurt if the government confiscated part of her family's wealth upon her parents' death. This was a shrewd bit of class warfare in keeping with the Democratic impulse to tax the wealthy as much as possible. But the Social Security debate now features a new, perverse kind of Democratic class warfare god a struggle to keep as many Social Security benefits as possible flowing into the hands of the well-off.

Maybe Paris Hilton doesn't deserve her inheritance, but her astronomically wealthy father, Rick, apparently deserves every last penny he can wring from the Social Security Administration when he retires."


http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0505/lowry050305.php3

[aila]

if a person pays into social security all their lives, it should be up to them whether they collect benefits or not. it would be a class act that if they could afford not to they turned it down, but no one should take their entitlement away because of their income. if they're 'wealthy' and have never paid into social security, then they should not be eligible based on their income.

raise the cap on wages. i can't understand why this option is not even considered. it's simple & won't cost anything to implement.

[MrDave]

I don't see the issue with the estate tax remaining as is or with some small adjustment. I guess I am not too concerned about the SS benefits. It could be easier to sustain if we didn't pay to those who didn't need it, but it sounds too much like taking away benefits people were promised which they did pay for during their working lives.

[barbs]

I don't see the issue with the estate tax remaining as is or with some small adjustment. I guess I am not too concerned about the SS benefits. It could be easier to sustain if we didn't pay to those who didn't need it, but it sounds too much like taking away benefits people were promised which they did pay for during their working lives.
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The laughable part of Social Security benefits is that they're not AUTOMATICALLY given - one has to APPLY for them.

So I'd like to find out how many wealthy people decline to apply for them, whether they have a right to them or not.
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Anyone know???
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[LindaK]

Warren Buffet was on Lou Dobbs tonite, a few of his comments were:

1) re: estate tax, he's for it, he believes the wealthy should pay their share, mind you very few do, he also asked where the 30 billion in lost revenue yearly would come from if we did not have the estate tax.

2) he also said there is a "class warfare" and his class is winning. He feels he owes back to this country that gave him the greatest opportunity to become extremely wealthy.

3) he collects a SS monthly payment of between 1700-1900 per month, he couldn't remember the exact amount.