Soak the Rich

The Evangelical Reactionary Radical Retrograde Right Wingnuts continue (since 1933) to bleat that Social Security is unfair and immoral and will go broke ever so soon because of the Baby Boom. What's always been puzzling is the income maximum for SS tax. Here's what a CT congresscritter has to say about the effect.

If the cap for Social Security had not existed (there is no cap on Medicare taxes) the some 6% of U.S. workers who earn more than Social Security's taxable maximum would contribute more than $388 billion to Social Security. If the earnings maximum had been eliminated, just the handful of people — a bit more than 229 — earning over $50 million a year would have paid $3.6 billion in Social Security tax, which is more than 77% of American workers — earning less than $57,000 per year — paid in Social Security tax.

How many modern countries have public pensions? 80. The USofA is hybrid, of course.