We REALLY need to lift the SS tax cap. [View all]

[Happy Hoosier]

Kind of a humble-brag, but with a purpose. I just paid my last SS tax for the year. I will effectively get a 6.2% raise for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, we are careening towards a cliff for the SS trust fund. This MAKES NO SENSE. I get the argument that SS is not intended as a welfare system. But it already has benefit "bend points" intended to replace lower percentages of income as income raises. The top-level "bend point" is targeted at 15% income replacement (it's progressive, though, so higher levels of replacement at lower incomes are blended with lower levels of replacment at higher incomes for a higher total replacment percentage). If folks want to avoid just adding more tax to high-earners while maintaining the benefits cap, just add another bend point and no benefits cap. Make it a 7.5% bend point. I'd gladly pay the additional amount to shore up the trust fund and the few extra benefit bucks would be welcome, I guess.

But either way, we need to eliminate the current cap. It's dumb. There is no reason for me to get another 6.2% income that I'll just put in my brokerage account, while people pulling in $1200/mo in SS are looking at a $400/mo cut!