The problem is not the cap on Social Security FICA taxes, the problem is that *anything* is deducted from our paychecks to begin with, in order to “pay for” federal programs, when that is an economic impossibility. The problem is that we are told SS is going broke when it’s not!
Our corrupt, corporate purchased politicians, media, and “experts” (of both political stripes!) want you to believe that taxes pay for federal programs. They don’t and CAN’T. The federal government creates the currency. You and I don’t. We need THEIR money, they don’t need ours.
Every single dollar ever created by the US federal government, since 1796 when the first dollar was created, is done with created currency. Every single SS benefit paid, every time, has ALWAYS been w/ created currency...which begs the question: then how can it go broke? It can’t.
Why do they pretend Social Security is going broke (or being borrowed or stolen from)? Because the government is giving us something for free, and corporations would like to make some money off of it. They can’t do that unless and until the SS law is watered down and killed.
FDR himself admitted in 1941, six years after its passage, that FICA payroll taxes are exclusively a political trick – they “aren’t a matter of economics.” They do not and have never paid for Social Security. Here is his quote on SSA.gov: ssa.gov/history/Gulick…
The Social Security Trust Fund does not fund Social Security nor anything else. It is a political parlor trick, not a container of money. Economists @StephanieKelton and Randall Wray (cfeps.org/pubs/wp-pdf/WP…): “the [SS] trust funds are an accounting gimmick.”
In other words, the Social Security Trust Funds cannot “go broke,” or be stolen or borrowed from. Nor can Social Security itself. Here is a more in depth look at these issues by economist Scott Fullwiler (@stf18):
”The seeds of neoliberal economic policy were planted during the founding years of 20th century," when FDR decided to saddle SS with a Trust Fund, instead of freeing future Congresses to create the currency as necessary, when necessary. counterpunch.org/2013/11/12/how…
The trust funds are essentially a gold standard for Social Security. That is, they are a more severe, codified-into-law version of “pay go" – an economically meaningless POLITICAL CHOICE, that only serves to make it more difficult and complicated to provide benefits to Americans.
The Trust Funds promote the idea that a gov’t supporting its people in their old age is an “earned" benefit to “pay into” – instead of a HUMAN RIGHT. They also are the reason why, for 80 years, we have heard nothing but, “Social Security is going broke!”
Unfortunately, President Johnson also saddled Medicare with a trust fund, which is why we *also* incessantly hear, “Medicare is going broke!” medicare.gov/about-us/how-i…
But most unfortunately, the Medicare For All bills proposed in *both* the House and Senate also have economically meaningless trust funds.
Of course, Trust Funds of this kind are only on bills that benefit the many. They are ECONOMICALLY meaningless, but elegant poison "pay-for” pills on otherwise wonderful bills. All based on the insidious neoliberal, monetarist concept of “taxpayer money.” counterpunch.org/2018/09/21/tax…
If we are ever to have – and keep! – Nice Things™️, then it is imperative that the people wrap their minds around how our economy actually truly functions. Otherwise we will forever continue to fall for neoliberal traps such as this.
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