the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jan 9, 2017
Congress is signaling that a renewed attack on the Social Security system is coming. The Congressional Budget Office just issued a report that claims the system will run out of the funds necessary to continue current benefits in 2031 and that benefits would then have to be cut by 31 percent!
Every government since the Reagan administration has raised alarms about how Social Security will run out of money–decades in the future–and declared that we need to raise Social Security tax rates, cut benefits now and/or privatize the whole system. Wall Street would dearly like to get its hands on the nearly one trillion dollars in the Trust Fund!
But even if the latest projections are accurate, one thing is sure: Social Security could be fully funded for another 75 years or more by simply requiring wealthy people to pay Social Security taxes on all their earnings. Currently earnings more than $127,200 a year are not taxed.
This would eliminate any excuse for proposals to increase Social Security tax rates, cut benefits or privatize the system. But that is not what we see when the goal is to take more from the working class and give it to Wall Street!