Republicans and their morbidly rich donors have hated Social Security ever since it was first created in 1935. They've called it everything from communism to socialism to a Ponzi scheme. In fact, it has been the most successful anti-poverty program in the history of America, one now emulated by virtually every democracy in the world. But the rightwing billionaires hate it for several reasons.
While working families struggle, Trump and his billionaire cronies are cashing in big time ... hartmannreport.com/p/stock-mark ...
-- Thom Hartmann (@hartmannreport.com) March 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
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The Social Security "trust fund" is a fiction. Social Security is paid for with federal income tax, there is no "separate" pot of money.
Not exactly true tho is it?
SS is paid for by a "dedicated payroll tax". Not income tax.
And there is a trust fund. It collects billions in interest.
How is Social Security financed?
Social Security is financed through a dedicated payroll tax. Employers and employees each pay 6.2 percent of wages up to the taxable maximum of $176,100 (in 2025), while the self-employed pay 12.4 percent.
Total income, including interest, to the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds amounted to $1.351 trillion in 2023. ($1.233 trillion from net payroll tax contributions, $51 billion from taxation of benefits, and $67 billion in interest)
www.ssa.gov
I agree that we should uncap it and expand it to cover all income. These and other things could be done if Congress and the White House were not so dysfunctional and in the grip of American oligarchs.
But the plan is not to save it. The Plan is to drown it and the rest of our government in a bathtub.
And so the Insurrection continues..
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