So glad that tax reform is being raised as an issue. Details matter.
Not fond myself of means testing social security but perhaps for different reasons than the author.,
Most wealth or income is not subject to social security tax which primarily falls on middle and professional class wage earners whose income is transparent. And yet when there is talk of social security insolvency, the remedy is never to subject ALL income to social security tax (investment income, rental income, dividends and interest, capital gains, etc.) but to take away the benefits from those who have paid social security taxes their entire working lives. A theft in my mind.
And let's not forget how social security has been raided to provide for more than a basic floor of financial security for the elderly. It's been used to fund social safety net programs rather than have those programs funded by general tax fund. Which stresses social security and leads to talk of insolvency.
I know, I know that there is something wrong about cutting social security checks to billionaires. But I'd rather those billionaires paid social security tax on their investment income and receive a check than take away benefits from those who have contributed all their lives.
Just throwing out ideas. Don't really know what I should. But glad to have the conversation started. So thanks, I guess, to Mitt Romney.
This is one of the most important messages I have seen in decades. Finally, the "system" is being recognized for what it really is, a prejudicial division of Americans- those who deserve to have benefits and others who are quietly shoved to the bottom of the power structure. This is pure racism inherently built into the American way. It is time for it to be dismantled once and for all.
Proving need, in the present technological environment, is also likely to involve submitting documents and data on-line. For persons with little access to the internet, this could be a significant barrier to getting benefits even if they solidly qualify for them. Getting on-line from rural areas with bad (or no) internet connections, trying to fill out complicated forms on a cell phone, navigating obscure terminology with no way of asking a live person for clarification, etc. can freeze someone out.
Ms. Allen-Kyle makes important important points about the many ways in which Black Americans have long had both hands tied behind them with respect to building wealth. While most (but certainly not all) White American families were able to start building generational wealth not long after their immigrant ancestors arrived, Black families were held back by slavery, then sharecropping, and all of the restrictions placed on home ownership once they moved North. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recounts in his memoir that Black families in his hometown, Piedmont, WV, could not own real estate until sometime in the 1970s. I remember reading that Black veterans were ineligible for GI real estate loans after WWII. Also in the 1970s, volunteering as a photographer in Jesse Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, I photographed the ejections of Black homeowners were the victims of predatory lending, their furniture and other belongings piled on the street in front of their homes. One was an active duty officer, in uniform.
I think taxation needs to be separate issue from means testing. The latter, when applied properly [with help to those who need it due to lack of information, technology, etc.] is a way to avoid fraud and waste. We know that assistance programs [SNAP, SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.] are full of fraudulent claims and need extensive oversight and enforcement. As for taxation, loopholes and "creative" hiding of assets are used/abused by the very wealthy to keep their taxes low. That's another area needing oversight and enforcement. I don't know enough about taxation in general to add to this conversation. Perhaps future Contrarian articles could cover this in depth.
I think you may mean "starting point" as opposed to floor. Mitt is pretty good at identifying starting points — see RomneyCare as the predecessor of the ACA — but perhaps not so good at follow-through. He is capable of identifying some loopholes the current President benefits from as a real estate investor but forgets to mention the carried interest loophole that he so richly benefited from.
Finally, what's wrong with means testing Social Security? There doesn't seem to be an outcry about means testing Medicare? That's been in place for 20 years!
So glad that tax reform is being raised as an issue. Details matter.
Not fond myself of means testing social security but perhaps for different reasons than the author.,
Most wealth or income is not subject to social security tax which primarily falls on middle and professional class wage earners whose income is transparent. And yet when there is talk of social security insolvency, the remedy is never to subject ALL income to social security tax (investment income, rental income, dividends and interest, capital gains, etc.) but to take away the benefits from those who have paid social security taxes their entire working lives. A theft in my mind.
And let's not forget how social security has been raided to provide for more than a basic floor of financial security for the elderly. It's been used to fund social safety net programs rather than have those programs funded by general tax fund. Which stresses social security and leads to talk of insolvency.
I know, I know that there is something wrong about cutting social security checks to billionaires. But I'd rather those billionaires paid social security tax on their investment income and receive a check than take away benefits from those who have contributed all their lives.
Just throwing out ideas. Don't really know what I should. But glad to have the conversation started. So thanks, I guess, to Mitt Romney.
Great, great article and all too true. That's exactly why there are more and more billionaires at the top and poor working slaves at the bottom.
Very enlightening. Thank you.
This is one of the most important messages I have seen in decades. Finally, the "system" is being recognized for what it really is, a prejudicial division of Americans- those who deserve to have benefits and others who are quietly shoved to the bottom of the power structure. This is pure racism inherently built into the American way. It is time for it to be dismantled once and for all.
Proving need, in the present technological environment, is also likely to involve submitting documents and data on-line. For persons with little access to the internet, this could be a significant barrier to getting benefits even if they solidly qualify for them. Getting on-line from rural areas with bad (or no) internet connections, trying to fill out complicated forms on a cell phone, navigating obscure terminology with no way of asking a live person for clarification, etc. can freeze someone out.
A tax plan designed by a billionaire will always benefit billionaires.
Ms. Allen-Kyle makes important important points about the many ways in which Black Americans have long had both hands tied behind them with respect to building wealth. While most (but certainly not all) White American families were able to start building generational wealth not long after their immigrant ancestors arrived, Black families were held back by slavery, then sharecropping, and all of the restrictions placed on home ownership once they moved North. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recounts in his memoir that Black families in his hometown, Piedmont, WV, could not own real estate until sometime in the 1970s. I remember reading that Black veterans were ineligible for GI real estate loans after WWII. Also in the 1970s, volunteering as a photographer in Jesse Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, I photographed the ejections of Black homeowners were the victims of predatory lending, their furniture and other belongings piled on the street in front of their homes. One was an active duty officer, in uniform.
Let’s start with the loopholes. That will do more, faster.
I think taxation needs to be separate issue from means testing. The latter, when applied properly [with help to those who need it due to lack of information, technology, etc.] is a way to avoid fraud and waste. We know that assistance programs [SNAP, SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.] are full of fraudulent claims and need extensive oversight and enforcement. As for taxation, loopholes and "creative" hiding of assets are used/abused by the very wealthy to keep their taxes low. That's another area needing oversight and enforcement. I don't know enough about taxation in general to add to this conversation. Perhaps future Contrarian articles could cover this in depth.
I think you may mean "starting point" as opposed to floor. Mitt is pretty good at identifying starting points — see RomneyCare as the predecessor of the ACA — but perhaps not so good at follow-through. He is capable of identifying some loopholes the current President benefits from as a real estate investor but forgets to mention the carried interest loophole that he so richly benefited from.
Finally, what's wrong with means testing Social Security? There doesn't seem to be an outcry about means testing Medicare? That's been in place for 20 years!