How the Super Rich Are Killing Social Security | Robert Reich

Social Security taxes are rigged for the rich - and the program is in danger because of it.
A CEO earning $20M/yr pays Social Security taxes on ~1% of their income.
Meanwhile, a normal worker pays Social Security taxes on 100% of their income.
How does that make any sense?

[@HectorSnipes]

I’ve been working and paying into Social Security for over 40 years, and there’s no way I’m waiting any longer to take it. I’m grabbing it early-might as well take the sure thing. At this point, I’m all about investing in myself and putting money into the market. Over the years, I’ve learned that building real wealth comes from making smart investments.

[@lolitashaniel2342]

Yes, building wealth comes from making smart investments. Having a mentor is really important. It can be tough to find someone experienced, but it’s a wise decision if you're not familiar with the market.

[@VictorBiggerstaff]

That's true. I've been assisted by a financial advisor for almost a year now. I started with less than $200K, and I'm just $19,000 short of half a million in profit.

[@crystalcassandra5597]

My husband and i just had a relative conversation this morning. This is exactly how we wish to get our finances coordinated ahead of retirement. Can I get access to your advisor?

[@VictorBiggerstaff]

Rebecca Noblett Roberts is the licensed advisor I use. Just search the name. You’d find necessary details to work with to set up an appointment.

[@BateserJoanne]

I just checked her out on google and I have sent her an email. I hope she gets back to me soon.

[@MikeKonczal-cq1pu]

My wife died in 2010. At the time, we had a son starting high school and another starting college. I needed to spend more time at home, obviously. Frankly, while at work, all I could think of was our youngest. He took it very hard. If it weren't for her Soc. Sec. (she worked for 24 years) we would not have made it.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Rich gotta rich. Poor gotta serve. 😓 Masters and slaves. It is what it is.

[@Muralisrinivasan-q3l]

Cap on social security cuts both ways If people with higher income pay more into social security They will also have to be paid more retirement benefits No easy solution

[@sensegirl27]

​@user-rl1rp3wz6m Thank you for pointing that out. What is the maximum Social Security benefit for high income earners? The maximum benefit is $3,627 for someone at full retirement age (FRA). The absolute maximum benefit that an individual can receive per month in 2023 is $4,555, and you must wait until age 70 to claim benefits and have been a high earner for 35 years to get this much.

[@TheLosamatic]

@@Muralisrinivasan-q3l sure there is all we have to do is eat the rich! LOL

[@TheLosamatic]

@@Muralisrinivasan-q3l sad thing is, I hear they are just full of shit!

[@wswanberg]

The solution may be obvious, but it is far from simple. Congress has known about this for decades, and yet still fails to pass any legislation to fix the problem.

[@david4096]

They being paid of by the rich .To keep us poor.

[@andreah6379]

Doesn't mean it can't or won't be done before 2033, either. Complacency and apathy from too many Americans let's their DC representatives off the hook. I hardly hear a steady chorus of commenters on YT saying "US needs to tax the F'g rich already." We have been heading towards this since Raygun changed the tax rates on the greediest rich. Where have the leftwing voters, Democratic voters been? Only since Obama have we been a united group & even started to vote like we should have since the 1980s!! But even that was irregular--if it's not a presidential year, leftwing voters still stayed home. The reichwing always votes. Not the left so much until just recently...only since we started to see our rights and democracy in danger. Again, that's been shrinking since Raygun! We have a lot of catching up to do and staying organized & involved with politics. Btw: Black Americans have to realize where their "heros" really stand on issues important to them like free higher education, universal health care, climate crisis, and Social Security & related programs. James Clyburn, for instance, is not working for any of that! Yet his popularity is at an all time high. WThell. Voting for conservative, moderate Democrats will keep up from any progress.

[@thesoundsmith]

Reaganomics became Newt-onian selfishness which led to Trump fascism. IT won't change. WE have to CHANGE it. Vote Blue, but be careful there, too. Billionaires corrupt. Corporations corrupt absolutely...

[@antihypocrisy8978]

Just blame China.

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

Many Democrats have tried to move forward and fix the problem but the Republicans will not allow it they would let social security go broke and end it instead of increase taxes on the wealthy and big Corporations. The bigger problem is the more than 3 TRILLION DOLLARS that was looted from SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND during three Republican administrations starting with the ANTICHRIST REAGAN just like the NATIONAL DEBT that they think they can just keep increasing AMERICA is actually bankrupt and this all happened so that the wealthiest among could become billionaires and MEGA millionaires America only has a future if we totally change our entire government and economic model and policies at all levels but just voting for the democrats is not enough we have to have a responsible change on how all of America is run at all levels

[@rockinrickyfan8164]

The saddest part of the whole situation is the unfair share workers pay from a salary they can't afford to live on.

[@Rustea314]

The employer pays both employee and employer share (you never see the 6.2 that you need to live on). It's one of the costs of doing business so that if a person lives long enough, they will be able to survive without affecting the rest of society. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage and let the market readjust.

[@skyisreallyhigh3333]

​@@Rustea314Maybe your employer pays your share, but the majority of us are seeing a peice if our paycheck being deducted for social security

[@sjwilson1079]

​@@skyisreallyhigh3333Then it is our responsibility to hold our representatives responsible for keeping social security solvent

[@nancysmith2389]

What's even sadder is that younger people will push YOU out of the workplace as you age. No one thinks it will happen to THEM. But it will. Unless you own your own business. If you have NO income or healthcare it will be a miserable existence if you can even exist. You think you can save money for your retirement? Well, that is much harder than it seems and emergencies happen to most people.

[@skyisreallyhigh3333]

@@nancysmith2389 Its not young people pushing you out. It's the for profit motive that's doing it

[@ronkirk5099]

When I retired back 2012 and started collecting from my SS insurance, I decided to live modestly enough to save nearly a third of my monthly check in the event federal government ever has to reduce benefits or eliminate the COLA or otherwise suspend payments for some other reason. We must as a society enact policies to prevent so much of the country's wealth from being concentrated at the top or more and more instability will result as the population living in poverty expands. To have this happening in a wealthy country is disgraceful.

[@jackpleb2360]

Why didn't you save more a long time ago??

[@bobs182]

We need to reverse some of the tax breaks and subsidies given to wealthy people and their corporations by Reagan, H W Bush and Trump. Wealthy people now control all 3 branches of government plus all 6 of the largest news outlets.

[@WoodlandGangsta-fm7xy]

That's the republican agenda. Keeping you on the plantation and voiceless.

[@WoodlandGangsta-fm7xy]

​@@jackpleb2360How do you know he could have saved more money a long time ago. He may have recently paid his mortgage off which would free up more money to save. Just consider yourself blessed if you can save at an early age because most can't

[@davidschneider6306]

From the beginning this country was founded by the wealthy planter class and they made sure rules were in place to keep the class privileges. Consider moving to a more egalitarian society.

[@JustMe-vk4fn]

The amounts of "private contractors" being used by corporations to avoid the 6.2% wage contribution an *Employer* would have to make for an actual *Employee* to the Social Security program is also a real problem.

[@Kilroy-was-here]

Nearly every realtor in this country is treated as a private contractor and is forced to pay up as if they were self employed. These loopholes really need to change.

[@JustMe-vk4fn]

@@Kilroy-was-here I didn't know that at all. Don't gig-economy workers face the same problem too? Sounds to me like the rule of law is slowly being eroded while our attention is drawn to "other" things.

[@Kilroy-was-here]

@@JustMe-vk4fn Correct...sad reality

[@tomfinn6579]

@@JustMe-vk4fnThe 6.2% still gets paid, it’s just paid by the worker, not the company.

[@JustMe-vk4fn]

@@tomfinn6579 But, as a "private contractor" doesn't that person have to pay not only their own 6.2% as a worker *plus* the 6.2% that their employer, (if they HAD an employer), would have to pay? :D Sure explains why employers who still *have* employees don't want to raise wages anytime soon...

[@wessager8659]

I just love how the super-rich take advantage of everything, including tax deductions, bailouts and stimulus, while whining like kicked dogs about giving anything back.

[@odettetenney409]

SPOT ON.... THAT'S THEIR AGENDA. BECOMING RICHER EVERYDAY !!!!!!

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

The only thing the rich understand is “more”.

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

The wealthy will never have enough they do not share

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

@@odettetenney409 EXACTLY!!!!! But it is out of control and the average American pays for this with ever rising inflation and lower standards of living for the working class and somehow the Capitalists think this is a sustainable way to run our economy and our government but they are wrong!!!!!

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

EXACTLY !!!!!

[@paulmakinson1965]

One of the hallmarks of a third world country is extreme wealth disparity.

[@MarkTubeG]

It's the hallmark of authoritarian regimes, regardless of x-world status. And this is what Trump and his despicable Party want for us.

[@cadebritt8001]

Aman.

[@richardjosephnovak]

The poorest in America are doing better than the vast majority of the worlds population. Please leave so you can be considered rich somewhere else.

[@WeekiWacheeMax]

Of the 127 million households in the US . . . . 24 million of them are millionaire households. Almost 1 out of 5. There's a lot of political talk claiming a lot of disparity of wealth in order to divide us but the reality is a lot of people are doing quite well.

[@MarkTubeG]

@@WeekiWacheeMax Please tell us more about your trickle down magic, Mr. Wizard. Give me a break. Let's take a leap and believe your statistics. That still leaves 80% of Americans not in the millionaire status. And you make no mention of the dire straights the vast majority of that vast majority is in. THAT'S the "disparity of wealth." And if you're trying to pretend "it's not that big a deal," or if you're just trying to justify in your selfish mind why you don't have to worry about most of the other people in this country, then, yah, you're just another despicable Republican, or worse, a demented Trump supporter. Which is it?

[@jerrydellasala7643]

Mr. Reich, I love your insights, and almost always agree with you, but in this case I don't think you go far enough. I'm a boomer too, about 7 years younger, and never thought I'd see anything from Social Security, but luckily do. I didn't learn of the cap until I broke it, and was appalled that there was such a thing. I knew that partners in the firm I was working at were making more in a month than I made in a year, and since I wasn't breaking the limit until December it made little difference to me. What really bothered me was that people making minimum wage or less WERE paying the tax. I don't see why the tax isn't imposed until one breaks at least the poverty level of income, and it should be set up so that the SSA should be estimating what that level should be to meet the coming year's needs. It's not like a dozen people need to sit around crunching numbers for weeks to determine that. It could be calculated in SECONDS! Why is this tax imposed on the poor? Why is it capped so low that the program is in danger? It's just DUMB!

[@Kyle68655]

It’s capped at a 147,000 because when you collect after you retire the benefits are capped… what rational reason is there to pay more into a retirement account than you’d receive in benefits?

[@elizabethpeterson56]

i understand the benefits u receive r based on ypur working income But that would probably only give u maybe 2 yrs of ss at retirement. the system was designed so that 40 to 50 yr olds teaching their highest point in income contribute to ss amd that is wjete your ss in retorement comes from. Obviously u completely defeat the whole intention by capping ss tx on these ypunger folks. And btw devlining birtjrates wii eventually undermine it all. Thanks DInks!!!!!

[@elizabethpeterson56]

sorry on misstrokes. hope its clear enuf.

[@urbanverificationist]

Ultimately MMT basically shows that governments are able to choose who they want to give money too. Fiscal constraints are mostly just arguments about who should get more than others. The Federal Government does not run like a household.

[@roxannamarinak3156]

Thank You again Professor Reich ...keep on Speaking out on Social Security. The Rich have to start paying more. The Greed and Corruption abounds among us.. Inequality is absolutely what has caused our crisis. How much does anyone really need to live and be happy. I read where the 4th cause of death in this country is "Poverty"

[@Iamwolf134]

Keep an eye on how many of the rich start hedging their bets against increased wealth taxes.

[@andreah6379]

Not enough Americans are saying this: TAX THE F'g RICH. Yes, part of that is "scrapping the cap."

[@michaelcap9550]

@@andreah6379 Typical liberal answer, Rinse and repeat.

[@lindarockafellow5058]

Michael so you don't think rich and huge corps shouldn't pay a fair share??

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

@@michaelcap9550 I would like to see a transparent tax system where everyone including billionaires and Mega millionaires and all capitalist businesses pay the actual amount of taxes that the tax laws say they owe the working class have their taxes taken directly from their payroll checks and mostly can not cheat and not pay their fair share

[@darceylopez6065]

My father is a 74 year old boomer working at Albertson’s. He had to go back to work to pay off his pace maker. Social security is only one problem we need to fix for our future. The other problem is the rising cost of healthcare. I’m Gen X and I will work until I die.

[@KernelHughes]

Why we need UBI

[@larryhovekamp4318]

Your father needs a full Medicare system. That's why the USA needs national health insurance- Medicare with negotiable cost controls for all!

[@davidmende4438]

American workers go through life as prey for Doctors, Lawyers, and Indian Chiefs. Those who need support after 67 should get help. Cradle to the grave minimum wage is a crime.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Universal income meaning free money for nothing you are a bum that wants something at our childrens expense our debt is bigger than our entire economy already that our children will have to pay for and you want free money at there expense to why do you hate our children

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

You won't pay enough taxes to pay for the social programs we have now our children will inherit a bankrupt shell of a nation because of people like you who thinks everything is free why do you not pay enough taxes to pay for the handouts Democrats want instead of bankrupting our nation

[@ingearmike4887]

It really is that easy. A little fairness goes a long way. Right now no investment income is taxed for social security, along with lots of other income, like rental income. That CEO who Mr. Reich claimed paid Social Security taxes on only 1% would only be true if he took that income as a payroll income. If he, like many of the very rich, take their income in dividends, then he would pay ZERO! Taxing "other" income will get us a long way towards fair share.

[@JamesMartin-hf9pe]

Social Security should be a living wage , and NOT only cents more than the current minimum ( starvation ) wage . Make SS an inflation proof living wage .

[@potrelviewer9536]

Being rich should be extremely regulated. How would rich people at the top of the societal pyramid could sustain themselves without the base and body of said pyramid (low and mid income folks)?

[@erikkennedy8725]

The existence of billionaires is a symptom of societal failure.

[@wdmm94]

No kidding. Most people never seem to think about the basic fact of our economy is that the mega wealthy couldn't generate passive streams of wealth without millions of peons to work in their jobs!!!!

[@user-rb1yf4he9q]

After serving this country, paying my taxes, supporting administrations that I didn’t agree with, I am now watching a country that has been sinking into more debt each yr, more division and more hate. It doesn’t bother me. I am accepting this as what life has handed me. I did my part. Now I choose to leave these shores and live a simple peaceful life. I don’t need SS, health benefits or any other program. I made enough to live comfortably anywhere and I leave this place behind with zero regrets.

[@genius11433]

I didn't even know that the cap existed! But i googled it, and yep, it's a thing! The cap has got to go. Unfortunately, simple solutions are hated in Washington precisely _because_ they're simple. We need to pray for those in Washington that they remember that they work for *us* , and we need to pressure our Congresspeople to make this simple fix yesterday.

[@fmbbeachbum8163]

And all the Congresspeople get to keep their salaries the rest of their lives, along with free healthcare.

[@suzannepottsshorts]

Just because it's simple, doesn't mean it's easy

[@andreah6379]

​@@suzannepottsshortsWe have to get use to that. Doing work to better our lives. If we don't, nobody else will.

[@odettetenney409]

The RATPUBS will NEVER GET RID OF THE *CAP* IT BENEFITS THEIR HORRID WEALTHY BASE ...VOTE BLUE 💙🇺🇸💙💙🌊🌊

[@vickijohnson9367]

I know many who earned way above the cap, and if anything is taken out above the cap, they can take their refund and buy a new car, then use the rest to go on a luxury vacation to Tahiti.

[@larryroddy595]

It's hard to get ahead in America when the deck is stacked against you.

[@woodenbat4054]

It’s amazing how this info isn’t available anywhere else.

[@vickijohnson9367]

Even more amazing is how so many in media business, and government try to suppress the truth. Even wiping the truth completely off the internet.

[@barryrobbins7694]

Just as the life expectancy of some groups is going down, the age at which they can collect earned benefits is going up.

[@geraldallocca6858]

Thank you Mr. Reich!! You tell it like it is!! The media must start talking much more frequently about inequality!! So does organized labor and our politicians!!

[@luiszuluaga6575]

What is it going to take for the majority of working Americans to really wake up to what’s happening in terms of our earnings? Company loyalty no longer means anything in this world and that’s by design. So, what are we left with? I’m just going to say we have options and we have negotiating power and we need to exercise it not just at the ballot box.

[@blvany]

Very clear and concise. He nailed it.

[@TheMysticSaint]

Your videos are always so educational. Thanks.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

He lies by withholding information he says the cap should be lifted he never tells you that the the reason for the cap is because there is a limit on what you can draw out

[@thecourseofempire8353]

@@fritzforsthoefel8031 Exactly ! If they want NO CAP then the benefits should also be proportional !

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Democrats want something for nothing at someone else's expense including our children who will inherit a bankrupt shell of a nation because Democrats won't pay enough taxes for the social programs they want

[@PhatTony92]

Since the age of 18 (I'm 31 now) I had ZERO expectations of EVER benefiting from any social programs in my times of need. Social Security being first among them. This country is a fucking hell hole and it's going to get a hell of a lot WORSE and I'm not sure it will ever get better. I'm already saving trying to get out of the country by 2030 assuming the shit heads who run this country don't make it illegal to leave the country if you're under a certain amount of income.

[@terryowen6759]

I hear Australia is nice

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

@@terryowen6759 New Zealand is nicer. So is Iceland .

[@rugger1009]

Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

[@christiandavid3794]

I am not opposed to scrapping the cap, but a living wage for those at the bottom would be more effective and fair.

[@terryowen6759]

The living wage part makes sense, people are barely scrapping by...but your saying give the poor more money to live but tax them more for retirement...instead of just taxing the wealthy ...who aren't struggling to survive

[@MiMi-og4wx]

There should’ve never been a cap. Problem solved.

[@johnyves1246]

Nice outfit Robert ! As always thanks for keeping us informed about this mess.

[@singloc3021]

As of today, I'm 52 years-old. By the time I retire, three things will happen: one, they will raise the age to receive full benefits. Two, reduce the actual benefit amount. Three, increase the contribution the working force pays into social security. Social security relies on the current workforce. I'm (we are) paying for my parent's retirement.

[@pauljoyner4338]

It was set up that way by FDR during the New Deal and had worked well at the start and for years after that. Then the politicians got to "improving" it and here we are.

[@JimHolder-pk2kk]

Therefore the cap must be removed.

[@timdanos9459]

the cap is in place because the payout at retirement is capped. if high income earners received uncapped Soc Sec pay outs, this would make sense.

[@missmindy3803]

I consume a fair amount of political content and this was the BEST explanation of what’s going on with this topic. THANK YOU!

[@WeekiWacheeMax]

What he isn't telling you is that increasing the SS taxes on the wealthy wouldn't be paid back to them in the same way it is paid back to those of us who contribute who are not wealthy. There's a limit to how much one can get from SS. The most retirement income one can get is about $3,600 to $3,800a month at 67, no matter if you were taxed for SS at $1,000,000 a month for 40 years paying in . He just wants the wealthy taxed for benefits they pay for but wouldn't receive. In other words, if one paid into SS 480 million they still could only collect $3,600 to $3,800 a month. This guy's analysis can't ever be trusted.

[@owenwagner4613]

Unfortunately for some wealthy this program will not get their return on onvestment. That is why it is "Social". For the benefit of the Common Good. Have we forgotten why it was first enacted? Taxes, old age and death ate inevitable. God bless the USA.

[@WeekiWacheeMax]

Because they cut off contributions at a certain level and give benefits commensurate with that level the ones who pay up to that level get corresponding benefits. What Robert Reich wants is for the well-to-do to contribute past what they will benefit from. His false claim is they don't pay their fair share. @@owenwagner4613

[@stever197037]

The problem with social security is that it doesn't all go to the social security account. It goes to the general fund and that fund writes a check to the administration annually. This means all the money from people who have paid in and die before they collect (if a spouse isn't collecting) doesn't stay in a social security account and grow the fund. It stays in the general fund for Congress to spend elsewhere. Social security needs it own account so Congress can use it for other things.

[@SandfordSmythe]

No, it is invested in government bonds as it was designed to do in 1935. It is then paid back in leaner times with interest.

[@DennisMSulliva]

@@SandfordSmythe Thank You. Is there any hope of getting past that widespread misconception?

[@suezbell1]

True ... but also add: WAGES have not kept up with inflation so SS tax/payments have not either.

[@franciscosaldana2879]

Never thought about this way Dr. Reich, wow, l will share this video

[@jeremiahjanney8331]

Can you include links to say tax forms where this info can be verified? Or an annotated tax from highlighting this reality? Because I believe you, but I have family who won’t, and the. I have to do a lot more work to find that information while fighting a battle of keeping their interest.

[@rmdodsonbills]

I'm all in favor of this. Another thing we could do is raise the minimum wage. I know state minimum wages factor in, so I don't know how many people are making less than, say $15/hour, but not only would raising the minimum wage increase the amount of money that is subject to the tax, but affected employers would be on the hook for their half of the employment tax as well as the extra money going to their employees. And with no changes to any tax rates on anyone, might be easier to implement than scrapping the cap. Maybe, these "we don't want to spend any money unless it goes into the pockets of rich people" politicians can be hard to read sometimes.

[@darrennew8211]

It's hard to know how many jobs would disappear if the minimum wage went up, though.

[@rmdodsonbills]

@@darrennew8211 True enough. On the other hand, people wouldn't need two jobs paying $7.25 an hour each if they could get one that paid $15.

[@darrennew8211]

@@rmdodsonbills If that $15 job exists already, it'll be easier to get if there are $7.25 jobs being worked by their peers than if many of the $7.25 jobs disappear and now the people who were working those are competing for the $15. It's not compassionate, but economics often isn't, sadly.

[@rmdodsonbills]

@@darrennew8211 Again, when a person doesn't have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, total demand for jobs goes down.

[@darrennew8211]

@@rmdodsonbills Demand for jobs will go down, but supply of jobs will go down too. It's not obvious to me how much the supply of jobs will go down, so I'm not sure which way the balance would tip. What *is* clear to me is that inexpensive labor isn't exempt from the supply/demand balance, and f'ing with that balance generally makes things worse off in most cases. Remember that the jobs you'd be eliminating are the jobs whose value to the employer is more than $7.25 but less than $15. When you put an entire store out of business because they can't afford employees any more, that's another big loss of highly-valuable jobs. I don't think I can guesstimate what the result would be. My point is that you don't know what would happen to the SSI tax. The speculation that it would be better for social security only works if you assume that most of the $7 jobs are still there at $15. My dad owned a service station (gas station + garage). He lost money on the minimum wage employees pumping gas, because the profit from the gas just wasn't high enough to pay their wages. But they brought in customers for the repair business, which *was* profitable. So that entire business would have gone under if he suddenly had to pay twice as much for the employees.

[@kenjohnson6101]

The median household income in CA is about $90,000. The average is $200,000. How can that be? The high-income household's >>$200,000 income isn't "earned", it's "extracted" from the $90,000 wage earner -- but without the SS tax liability. You can't have it both ways: If you want to extract wealth from the working class you should also proportionately accept some of the SS tax liability.

[@redhawk7002]

What RR fails to mention is the cap is also used to cap benefits. Raising the cap seems like at least part of a solution, but would those additional taxes on income above the cap also generate more benefits for the people that would be paying more into the SS System?

[@fasteddie7276]

the top 1 percent of income earners earned 22 percent of all income and paid 42 percent of all federal income taxes - more than the bottom 90 percent combined (37 percent).

[@tradeprosper5002]

But they only pay 24% of total US tax revenue. Somehow, payroll tax isn't considered "income" tax, even though it is based on income. 1984

[@stewartmillen7708]

The idea in 1983 was that US wages would keep up with inflation, which they did not. Removing the cap and (moreover and more importantly) applying the tax to ALL income, not just wage income, is what is needed. It's even possible to do this and double the current payouts and lower the retirement age tiers across the board yet have the program solvent. As many have lost pensions, I believe that's exactly what we need to do.

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

Exactly! All Wall Street earnings must be taxed! It is so unfair the way it is now.

[@pathull435]

How about no cap AND no deduction from incomes below $10k, even,-$20k.

[@Construimus_Batuimus]

At least $13,850 -- the standard deduction for *_income_* tax. At an income of $13,850 there is effectively zero income tax because of the standard deduction, but you *_still lose_* $1,060 to Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. And since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, there is no personal exemption to deduct from your income unless you are over 65 or blind (added together if you are both). Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 = another fine mess of Trump's that the Republicans are too goddam greedy to rescind.

[@DisinterestedObserver]

Then you have a welfare system but FDR sold Social Security as an insurance system. Not that he truly believed it as in insurance contracts the more you pay in, the bigger the benefit but SS does the exact opposite. In the SS system, the more you “contribute,” the benefit that dollars buys is smaller.

[@konacyclist]

Aside from the cap, another thing that irritates me is when Social Security is referred to as an entitlement program when I have contributed to it my entire working life!

[@SandfordSmythe]

Your definition

[@andrew_owens7680]

How is it possible to fit so much content into such a diminutive man? I love me some Robert Reich! Keep up the good work!

[@RobertMcUSA]

But the income you get is proportional to how much you put in (as it should be). To be fair, the more you pay-in, the higher your “retirement” pay-out is. The reason there is a cap on how much income is taxed to pay-in, is BECAUSE there is a cap on how much you get paid-out later.

[@PacifierMusic]

This cap is outrageous!!! We need to rise up and ensure the rich pay their fair share. Tax the rich and lets get our fair share. 77% isn’t going to make ends meet for so many people. Fight the power!

[@cryptojonny6837]

Its best to look for more ways to make money as backup times are changing no one knows how the future will be especially for social security.

[@whatever3773]

@@agustino42491 youre clearly one of those sheep that so consistently votes against her own best interest.

[@darcy5761]

That's right,I'm on social security and am thousands of dollars below the poverty line. I worked my whole life as a nurse and can't afford half my meds.

[@davidmainord-n9x]

How did that work out under the Democrats? We need a free and fair system

[@tuberific454]

Like Pence said on video to his donors recently, protecting the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy will be priority #1 in 2024 because he doesn't believe in the idea of the wealthy paying their fair share. So, it isn't about protecting jobs or incentivising investments, which are debunked trickle down economics talking points anyway. It's about keeping funds flowing into campaign coffers.

[@themancaveclub]

Thank you Mr. Reich for educating people about the true problem!

[@dude9406]

This man speaks with so much wisdom and truth. Thank goodness we at least have him to inform us. I love that he gives solutions to fix the problem in each of his videos. Thank you, RR!

[@garyreid2178]

As a man of 57, I have been told by my family to retire at 60, I don’t want to retire because I just might get myself screwed over. I have worked for many companies and had no satisfaction whatsoever. I don’t think that I would get the full benefits until I reach 72 or more. More importantly, I have to plan carefully during this time period. But as easy as it appears, it has to be studied carefully.

[@terryowen6759]

Definitely take everything into consideration, including the possibility you may not reach age 72. In my case, i decided id rather have money in my hand now than wait and possibly pass away and never receive anything. there are videos that I've seen that show there's no difference in the amount you will receive regardless if you take it now...or later...until recipients reach about 78 yrs old? If you live that long?

[@deanfiora4227]

I'm 57 myself and can't imagine I'll ever afford retirement.

[@kdubs3]

These videos should have a larger audience. Subscribe folks if you agree! It costs nothing and will help to get the word out. We won't see this kind of info on the nightly news - and we should.

[@DaleKirkley]

This is absolutely correct. I stopped paying social security last year at the end of July, and it will be at the end of August this year. I hated this, and also that there is actually no option to keep on paying it for those of us with a social conscience. There is absolutely no reason why I should not continue to pay, its not like I suddenly can't afford once I hit the cap. The financial system here is just broken, and the people keep voting in favour of giving the wealthy more wealth.

[@davidmainord-n9x]

You need to have your brain examined. Read more about history in the us

[@yourgooglemeister6745]

Same old broken record of losers. If you are going to pay the high earners more benefits then I would agree with this. If not it is just another welfare program

[@kajani6181]

My question is as follows. By law S.S. reserves can only be invested in federal T-bills. Historically not high yield. Assuming we removed the cap, especially on investment income, what prevents the upper 2% echelon from receiving back mammoth monthly incomes at retirement age and negating the process?

[@timothyowen4503]

I'm not ordinarily a fan of RR. But he's right on this one. I've been saying this for years. SS is maybe the most regressive tax we have. Sales tax is next. They both hit the poor disproportionately.

[@chuckharris4504]

tax the rich...simple as that...!

[@tammyburke9453]

Robert, you've only gotten better looking and smarter! 😊

[@thetruthserum2816]

Red Team response: "Feed the Rich, blame the poor"...

[@TerryMcColgan]

I have been saying this for a long time. Greatly increase the cap. It would allow for the payroll tax to be reduced to a fraction of what it is. That would put more money in the hands of the people who actually spend it, which drives our economy. As an employer has to match the payroll tax, it would free up money for employers to hire more people. It's a win-win. A guy like Bezos probably hits the cap on 1/1 in his 1st 5 minutes. The rich will cry foul, but is it fair that I, on a percentage basis, pay double now in income tax than a wealthy person does?

[@Tomthumb123]

Kudos Robert Reich

[@jamescox7026]

Won't ever happen cause this country is broken

[@Imsierrabound]

Let’s not forget that SS benefits were expanded well beyond what the original framers envisaged. Sure you can advocate removing the withholding caps but you didn’t address the caps on benefits nor reckless government spending and borrowing..

[@SandfordSmythe]

Government spending has nothing to do with SS.

[@RodneyDempsey-o8w]

When social security started in 1935 life span was around 62 years old most people only recieved ss for a few years. Now people are living longer some people are recieving ss for years or longer. A lot of peole are recieving 2 to 3 times more then they put in. That is where the problem is.

[@TheKrostiman]

Sadly Americans seem deeply committed to vote against their own financial interests

[@andrew40]

The amount a person receives from SS in retirement is related to how much they paid in. If the cap is removed, won't rich people just get even bigger payouts later, negating the gains?

[@MbisonBalrog]

SS never meant as retirement fund. It is supplemental and barely with inflation.

[@RT-ox8lv]

Thank you.

[@michaelyun2407]

So by your logic if the cap is removed rich will pay more does it mean when they retire they also get a share? Seems fair right? Pay more into the system now and get a bigger share in the future.

[@danettaowens1081]

THANK YOU FOR THE TRUTH.❤❤❤😊😊😊😊

[@iracer9395]

If you raise the cap for SS taxation you should also raise the benefits cap. If wealthy people pay more in they should get more out too

[@davedbaveda]

The main reason social security is going broke due to government spending. It has nothing to do with the cap. The top 1% pay almost 50% of all taxes. The bottom 90% pay less than 3%.

[@pete4693]

This is why they want Trump.

[@Jo11ee]

I remember seeing a 20/20 years ago where wealthy people were taking social security even though they didn't need it at all, but they justified it as the government is offering it to us...

[@steventeter3332]

Dr.Reich. Iv'e always said I wouldn't mind paying more into the system. If I understand it we me and my employer pay 1/2 each which I belive is %7.65+. I would be willing to raise that to %9.0 and raise the cap on Social Security. Plus applying a different math model put forth by social Security Amin. In the 70's they switched from the CPI to wage % increase and wages from the bottom have outpaced the CPI. If they switched back to using the CPI formula that would not intail as large of a cut in 2033 and would insure solvencey in the future. Also way is the SSID program solvent till 2059 and SSI set to issue reduced payments in 2033. Thank You Dr. Reich

[@user-pe8il6pd2v]

I actually like what the Affordable Care Act (under Obama administration) did with the additional Medicare tax 0.9%. Something similar should be done where there is a cap but add additional tax when income exceed certain level. Otherwise it is still the bottom and middle paying more.

[@leonardtownpl4081]

I am just trying to get it now

[@montamiddleton9318]

Just taxing investment income would be a huge help. But then you get into the inheritance tax and don't forget the investments from unscrupulous knowledge of the stock market us average citizens not get to preview.

[@davidcooper177]

AND THEY SAY democracy is the best system that man/woman have ever created! A question and point to reflect.

[@lilliankerr-z7c]

Most Americans find it hard to retire comfortably amid economy crisis. Some have close to nothing going into retirement, my question is, do I pull cash from my 401k and buy a house, or spread my money in stocks for cashflow? I'd love to afford my lifestyle after retirement?

[@Lindamartin-w1h]

Lately, I've been contemplating retirement, uncertain whether my 401(k) and IRA will ensure a secure future. I've also invested $200K in the stock market, experiencing fluctuations without substantial gains.

[@BenJacques-h1x]

Dealing across multiple asset classes can reduce risk more effectively than putting all of your money into one. If you don't understand finances properly, see a financial consultant.

[@alexYolan-wl3xm]

A lot of folks downplay the role of advisors until being burnt by their own emotions. I remember couple summers back, after my lengthy divorce, I needed a good boost to help my business stay afloat, hence I researched for licensed advisors and came across someone of utmost qualifications. She's helped grow my reserve notwithstanding inflation, from $575k to $1.2m

[@LeylahCollins]

You seem to know the market better than we do, so that makes great sense. Who is the guide?

[@alexYolan-wl3xm]

My CFA ‘Grace Adams Cook’ , a renowned figure in her line of work. I recommend researching her credentials further. She has many years of experience and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market.

[@1ring2rule3pigs]

This is so angering. These politicians are supposed to be HELPING not HARMING ordinary citizens.

[@pdxmusl1510]

If they want to help you they'd abolish ss gracefully. This is a math statement. Not a political one. Math says ss is abysmal. Do the math. Take what ss has taken out of your check and mock invest it. I looked at all my past wages and did it. Assuming an average 8% return. I'd have over 2 million right now and im not remotely close to 50 yet. I'd be retired or financially independent. Ss is absolutely abysmal.

[@1ring2rule3pigs]

@pdxmusl1510 S.S. has worked for over 80 years just fine. Why do they want to get rid of it now? Easy. Do the math.

[@btcrazee1]

They help themselves and their rich friends. Nothing is more obvious than SCOTUS.

[@q45ij54q]

@@pdxmusl1510 SS is insurance, not an investment. It's the last bastion of the poor against starvation and homelessness. It's the most popular and effective government program ever created. Not everyone has the means or capability to invest, and fewer have the ability to delay gratification for forty years.

[@CarlosIowa]

Simple. Real Simple. 330 million Americans are playing The Game of Life. And 3 million are playing Monopoly. Guess which game Congress is making the rules? Got it?

[@houndmother2398]

I need my social security. All of it.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Under Biden record levels of debt record levels of deficit spending record levels of illegal immegration if Trump does win he will have quite a mess to clean up democrat handouts that Democrats won't pay for are destroying us vote out handout Democrats before it's to late our childrens future depend on it

[@mariancruceru6826]

GOOD LUCK!

[@richardjosephnovak]

If you oay into it you will get paid.

[@mr2010GM]

The problem is American voters elect in office politician that make laws against their own interest.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

The rich pay almost all the federal taxes and get next to nothing in return the middle class draw more ss and medicare than they pay in taxes and the poor get subsidized housing food assistance cash assistance and free healthcare meanwhile we have a debt so big it defies belief our children will have to pay for because you won't pay enough taxes for democrat handouts why is that

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

You think it's ok to live off our childrens future earnings vote Democrat if you think we shouldn't vote differently

[@WeekiWacheeMax]

What he isn't telling you is that increasing the SS taxes on the wealthy wouldn't be paid back to them in the same way it is paid back to those of us who contribute who are not wealthy. There's a limit to how much one can get from SS. The most retirement income one can get is about $3,600 to $3,800a month at 67, no matter if you were taxed for SS at $1,000,000 a month for 40 years paying in . He just wants the wealthy taxed for benefits they pay for but wouldn't receive. In other words, if one paid into SS 480 million they still could only collect $3,600 to $3,800 a month. This guy's analysis can't ever be trusted.

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

@@fritzforsthoefel8031 when Trump was the President for one four year term and had a Republican controlled Congress they ran up over 8 Trillion Dollars in Debt 25 percent of the National Debt they gave out huge tax cuts to the wealthiest 1 Percenters a vote for the Republicans is a vote against American Freedom and Democracy almost the entire National has been run up since Reagan the ANTICHRIST became president with most of that deficit spending happening with a Republican in the White House and Republican Majority in Congress

[@brianandrews7099]

@@fritzforsthoefel8031so your prepared to fund your retirement 100 percent on your own? Better recheck those online retirement calculators you’ve been using because the amounts they say you need to retire are calculating based on assumed social security and medicare benefits, too. Remove them and you need to start pumping in a ton more money into your retirement account. Guess there goes your new cars and vacations from now on! For most Americans, they already cannot fund their retirements plus send their kids to college, so your already not “costing your kids their future”; they are already going to end up on their own taking out huge student loans if they want more education beyond high school. The whole system has been designed to keep them in debt from the day they graduate from high school to the day they die. Big industry wants no part of creating an educated or motivated workforce but it is happy to bitch and blame that they cannot find intelligent employees and continue to treat employees like shit because, well they already have theirs and the people under them can just go to hell! You think Trump is the answer? Good luck with that! If you are not filthy rich, you and your kids are screwed! It really doesn’t matter who you vote for, the whole plan is already bought and paid for and deep underway. They wanted it, they like it, they don’t care what you think. The Republicans just want to drop the pretentiousness that we aren’t already living in fascism; that way, they can move forward in expanding it! Sieg Heil Trump!

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

The cap was a horrible idea. Of course, it was the plan of the rich.

[@brucebasile5083]

I couldn't agree more.

[@zedwolf1589]

​@alvinsoehendrywijaya9893 Nope the rich right now are paying a lower tax rate than a person working at fast food, your libertarian views don't work in a decent society. Basically everything will crumble and if you want to choose a libertarian lifestyle you can move of the grid and live of the land because that's the only true libertarian lifestyle.

[@brucebasile5083]

@@zedwolf1589 Nicely said, my friend.

[@horstdraper4551]

A cap makes sense in the grand scheme of things. Whatever social security was originally designed to be (and I have my own research to do on that), currently it is essentially mandated retirement savings, so why pay more in when you're already at the maximum payout? Not a good investment by any measure. I struggled with this idea when I was thinking about how to fix social security myself, and my best solution included raising or eliminating the cap on the income taxed - seemed unfair to do that because some people would pay in and receive no benefit from the overage. I would also be in favor of investment income being subject to SS tax...or at the very least, eliminating the preferential income tax treatment of investment income. Why is the income that comes from work that someone does to build a bridge get taxed at a higher rate than the income gained by the person who bought the bond to fund that bridge? Also, "security" is in the name...meaning that no one who works for a substantial number of years is left impoverished after they can no longer work. If you retire with significant assets, say $25M (or any number you want to substitute), I would argue that you're already secure and don't need the payout. You put that money into the system during your working years just in case you need it, but you don't. Congrats, you won! I'm sure that a lot of the extremely wealthy aren't collecting anyway if their income was derived from stocks and other activities, so they didn't pay in all that much or at all, so wouldn't qualify. Again, I'm trying to look into that on my own. I will add that when I said mandated retirement savings earlier, it's also savings that we get no control over how it is invested, and to cut the benefit to 77% of what we were originally promised (or any cut, for that matter), is completely unacceptable. Raising the retirement age again is also not acceptable. But to say that because a cap on income subject to the tax is unfair is misleading, since there is also a cap on the payout.

[@jimroscovius]

The real problem was putting the money in the general budget.

[@5150cappie]

Funny how the ones who oppose social security and health care are the last people who would ever need it. How nice they look after us.

[@thecourseofempire8353]

Look after yourself

[@tonylevine2716]

Bingo!!

[@samstewart9249]

​@@thecourseofempire8353Yes, by not voting in politicians who favor the wealthy!

[@HighFrequencyRadio]

Take care of your health and stop eating crap!!

[@Da_Xman]

​@@HighFrequencyRadio How funny...! Thanks for adding some great humor to an unhappy subject! LOVE IT! ✨♥️👋🤣👍✨

[@endarior]

That cap is wild. I don't know any other countries with social security-like policies and tax caps for the very wealthy. Madness

[@johnmartin4641]

Scrapping the cap is not legal. Social security was justified to the courts by promising people would get the money they pay in social security taxes back when they retire, therefore you can’t make people pay way more money into it than they will ever get back.

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

@@johnmartin4641 do you have a different solution to prevent millions of elderly seniors from becoming homeless on the streets of America how about we just make the government themselves pay back the more than 3TRILLION dollars that three Republican Presidents and CONGRESS stole from the SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS tax the wealthy for that give back all the massive tax cuts that benefited the Mega wealthy

[@DonaldMains]

Have you heard of a country called Canada? It's a small country to the north of the US. Canada limits taxes to the first 65k (CDN) of earnings in the Canada Pension Plan.

[@ElRipper100]

the problem is that Congress doesnt know how to use their collected taxes wisely!!!!!!!! Look at the Democrats: the love to raise taxes and spend money on all kinds of shit. Biden is ruiniing our economy RIGHT NOW! Blaming people who make money is stupid!!!!!!! They dont owe anyone anything!

[@darrennew8211]

Part of it is that the super-rich don't make much income. It's trivially easy to avoid most income taxes when you have unlimited credit because you own billions of dollars of wealth. Also, don't "borrow" from social security funds and replace it with promises to raise taxes in the future. However, I'm not sure what "their fair share" of the SSI payments should be. If you're removing the caps on the taxes and not removing the caps on the benefits, that hardly sounds like "your fair share." Don't act like the wealthy people are doing something wrong. Just say you want their money.

[@danielking5670]

Raise the cap to 400,000!

[@k0rc]

Have no cap. Invert the payout benefit so the poor and middle class get more benefits while the rich already have wealth and any SS is just pocket change in their stratosphere of wealth.

[@That1powergamer]

The only problem is it will never pass. Congress represents the rich now, not us.

[@My2CentsYall]

They stacked the supreme court as well. I'm going to say it The republicans court justices all have billionaire friends.

[@benjaminlehman3221]

Yes! They make 174,000 per year so they will be increasing taxes on themselves.

[@rmdodsonbills]

@@benjaminlehman3221 It wouldn't surprise me at all if Congressional salaries were exempt from the tax altogether, but I really don't know one way or the other.

[@brotherlonewolf4182]

Dear Reader: Do you fear plans by Republican fascists to cut Social Security and Disability, to put the homeless population in concentration camps, to end our right to read what we like and to protest and even vote? Are you convinced that Donald Trump bought the electoral votes he needed in 2016? Do you wish that there were something you could do about all this? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then read on. This is the letter for you. This is a chain letter. Please make 12 copies and send them to 12 different people, before it's too late. The time is now to spread the word by any and all means possible. Let's spread the word to vote blue, to vote all of the GOP fascists out of office. Let's spread the word to petition our representatives for a constitutional amendment to elect the president by popular vote so that another rich tyrant like Donald Trump doesn't buy any more electoral votes. Our freedom and democracy are at stake here. Get busy and do your civic duty now. A Concerned Citizen

[@markjayroe1709]

Vote blue don’t make me say it Dumb Asses!!!

[@davidschneider6306]

The billionaire aristocracy has a stranglehold on our media, even the ones thought to be progressive. We have folks dependent on Social Security that support Republican initiative to gut it. We have union members who owe everything they have to their membership who believe the union is their enemy. Folks dependent on Medicare think the Republicans effort to reduce benefits is in their interest. We need a big voice to tell America the truth about how the economy here functions to keep them in penury.

[@glendavis1266]

Your right, dumb voters, millions of them. Unbelievable the uneducated. Like the assault on the Capitol. Hooliganism.

[@bbmw9029]

Just because people have toe play the game they've been dealt into doesn't mean they have to like and support the game.

[@patmcbride9853]

Lefty billionaires that don't want YOU to ever be really wealthy.

[@sandikennelly1357]

Sorry but you’re wrong. It’s not the Republicans that are ignoring Social Security going broke. The Republicans chastised Biden for his excessive spending while ignoring SS, Pensions and Medicare going broke.

[@ritamariekelley4077]

If every American citizen had your awareness, we could do it.

[@terriem3922]

Another problem is: Working after age 50. 60. 70. I know people at Walmart who work in their 80s, but in general, it becomes more and more difficult to find work the older you get, even if you are perfectly capable of doing the work. Since you're not working when you're older, social security is not getting your income. I never minded paying my taxes. Except on my social security. It shouldn't be taxed. An idea from the rich. Their greed knows no bounds. I work in my late 60s so I can pay my medical insurance premiums and buy dentures and make necessary updates on my 50 year old mobile home. I would have died of sepsis from my rotting teeth if I had not gotten my job. Literally. Extractions are expensive. Walmart saved my life.

[@altrag]

> Since you're not working when you're older, social security is not getting your income That's.. kind of the point of social security. You pay into it during your career, and you get the money back out when you retire. The idea that wages would have been stifled so harshly for so long that people can't even contemplate retiring was not really on the radar back then. That's a whole new era of economic fuckery rooted in Reagan's policies but not actually realized until after he was out of office.

[@DonaldMains]

If you think this is a good video then why are you against Social Security being taxed? it helps keep the system solvent and only upper income pay any substantial tax on their Social Security. I don't understand your rationale.

[@SandfordSmythe]

@@DonaldMains Most people don't know the tax returns to SS, and it's a form of means testing to make the rich get less.

[@dealiaduncan4268]

@@DonaldMains my social security is taxed at the max 75% is w

[@dealiaduncan4268]

I pay on 1000. I'm at the lower end of middle class according to tax table and KY taxes have gone up 15% because we always pay the most on the least. I'm a widowed have no deductions ! 26% tax brax mg et

[@tomg6498]

The rich got rich by not giving a shit about lower lifestyles. It's the people's problem.

[@murraymadness4674]

You might also look into why they increased SS payments by 8%, yet everything I buy has gone up AT LEAST 25%. Exclude food and gas and drugs and healthcare, yeah we don't pay for those things when you retire.

[@charlesronk2989]

Amen to that. What is in their basket of goods. As you say everything I buy is 25% more than just 2 years ago. As a Federal Government employee I got a 4% raise.

[@brorpaulhjelm6187]

The government is claiming the inflation rate is under 10 percent but most people know everything they buy has gone up at a much greater rate than that the government lies about everything including the poverty rate and the unemployment rate and the amount of homeless people in America which the well off politicians have completely turned their backs on we would not want the well off to feel bad about all their excessive wealth would we

[@SandfordSmythe]

They use a different COLA formula to save money. There isn't enough SS income there. Why do people envision Uncle Sam as sitting on a pile of money and wanting to be mean?

[@murraymadness4674]

@@SandfordSmythe Because they are/do? They borrow trillions to pay for aircraft carriers and million-dollar each missles to kill people.

[@aolvaar8792]

@@SandfordSmythe "The Only way to deal with a Starving person is to Feed or kill them."

[@Shari466]

I've been saying get rid of the cap ever since it was only $69,000. That was a long time ago and I was making about $12,000 a year.

[@maninthemiddle55]

Thanks for your good work, Mr Reich

[@unquietriot8019]

I wish he would also address the insidious laws that make lower income people STAY lower income once they retire. Social Security reduces you benefits if you earn $$ after retiring. It works like this: if your SS income is $1,000/month = $12k/year. Now, say you get a decent "retirement job" that gives you an additional $35k/year. Congratulations! You now earn a whopping $47k/year. If you're UNDER 67, the government will deduct $1 of your social security for every $2 you are over the "cap" you can earn in retirement (which is currently $21,240 for FY23). So, your $12,000 Social Security payments just got reduced by $6,880. Your "new" social security benefit is now $5,120 and your total income is now just $40k (before taxes). If you're over 67, they'll take away $1 for every $3 you earn over the "cap". So the next time you hear people screeching about the glories of "free market capitalism", ask them about that little bit of malfeasance.

[@andreah6379]

We can thank Raygun--CONservatives' hero for taxing OUR Social Security!

[@honestabe1940]

GOOD JOB!

[@armymutt25A]

You're actually going to blame a socialist program architecture on capitalism? Seriously? Under free market capitalism, there would be no SS program. You would get to keep that money so that YOU can invest it in a manner that suits you. The entire program was put into action under a socialist-lite president.

[@SandfordSmythe]

SS is to pay for retirement, not to supplement your working. It doesn't have money as it is.

[@unquietriot8019]

@@SandfordSmythe Maybe you missed the part where SS is money WE put in it our entire working lives. It's not some "free entitlement" pot to be withheld or reduced for any reason. There is also no legitimate reason to double tax any earnings from our "second careers" - they're taxed plenty on the front end. (SS is also, in a twist of sheer legislative malice, taxed). Here's a fun fact: pensions have no such restriction on earnings during retirement. For example, retired employees earning healthy pensions of $80-$90k/year can earn as much as they want without that "retirement stipend" being reduced. Why? They funded SS the same way they funded their pensions - payroll deductions on their earnings. I wonder if it could be because people dependent on SS are more likely to have been lower income workers without the option or ability to be employed where pensions were offered? They're older people who have fewer assets and much more economic vulnerability than the well-compensated pensioned employee? Likely they already receive a very low stipend from SS (a friend I know receives $700/month) but if she takes a job to supplement that, the government has chosen to pass a law to take even that small pittance away. Certainly seems like the law makes it more likely for poorer retirees to remain in that low-income situation, doesn't it? Why do that? Finally, if SS is in danger insolvency then the solution is to eliminate the salary cap and make the rich pay into the fund at 100% of their earnings. Maybe watch the video? Problem solved (until Congress creates another one).

[@truthisfree7297]

Thanks as always Mr. Reich for cutting through the bs and demonstrating how clear the solutions to some of our most pressing issues are. It does astound me how greedy so many became over the last few decades, people who somehow think they are worth millions to the company, but were generally incapable of doing anything without their wage slaves. Do they really think that paying a bit more into social security would kill them? Thanks to the GOP, most companies have already gotten out of providing pensions in favor of the awful 401K grift.

[@jackpleb2360]

The GOP ate my homework!!! Yeah yeah the demonrats molested my daughter, sniffed her hair, tried to rape her, tried to abort her first, and then stole her retirement to send to Ukraine (and right back to Joe thru money laundering) but its that GOP that is a danger.

[@urbanverificationist]

Stephanie Kelton made a great point when she said that we shouldn't ask "can we afford the money?": it's really a question of whether we can afford the resources and labor needed to get stuff done. Another way is to say that the only limit to government spending is the productive capacity of the nation.

[@yourdaddy-mq4km]

Social security is a ponzi scheme, it's always been abused and it's always out of money because the top of the pyramid always grows.

[@mark.harvey]

But this is just as biased. SS benefits are capped as well. If the cap is raised would you also approve removing the cap on SS benefits?

[@aurora571000]

@@mark.harveyno, it is a benefit to all of society keep seniors from becoming homeless. That is their reward

[@billymorton8934]

I love what you do ! We need more like you ! You’re always on point ! Thank you for all you do in the name of democracy ! 🇺🇸💙

[@jackpleb2360]

Democracy is a great evil. It is so bad. Our American country is a Republic first and foremost. The founding father, Benjamin Rush, is quoted as saying, "A simple democracy is the devil's own government." The boomer generation is so utterly lost, brainwashed by a post-WWII foundation MYTH that you cannot see reality. Truly a sad bunch captured young by satan's tribe and led astray, up to the point that you allowed for the destruction of the family and the systematic murder of unborn human beings. And you still moan and bleet about democracy. Democracy is the god that failed. You are just talking about communism, and you cannot even see it. So sick and sad. If i couldn't laugh at the black comedy, I'd weep for the death of my country.

[@jhonshephard921]

I love what he does now but he was in the government of the neo-lib who turned the Democrats right. He could have at least tried to stop his friend back then from being Reagan 1.5. I am still a Democrat but only because real leftists don't have a better choice.

[@trallfraz]

A flat tax would be more to 'the point' but the commie democrats ALWAYS love spending money we don't have on themselves and idiotic things like 'climate change', which used to be global warming until they were found to be frauds.

[@georgeberg2106]

As long as the GOP wins the news hype game nothing will change. The fallacy about entitlement programs being the huge burden on society needs to include the entitlements going to defense and corporations and political pork programs then maybe voters will hold Congress responsible for their inaction.

[@terri241]

Right on. Well said,

[@bobs182]

Reminds me of Michelle Bachmann complaining about people getting $125 SNAP food payments while her farm received $150,000 in crop subsidies from the government. Stop the crop subsidies started during the depression and give food aid to hungry people so they can afford to buy the food Bachmann grows. Let the capital markets decide the price for farm crops instead of crony capitalism.

[@georgeberg2106]

@@bobs182 big problem now is how many farms are foreign owned. The processing plants farmers sell to are also foreign owned, sold out by American CEO's in order to get a huge bonus. These plants squeeze American farmers out by controlling prices and buying legislators with the profits.

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

The gangster-capitalists in America make very sure that the government serves their needs first, and above all others. This is a systemic problem, with both parties now deeply implicated in the evils that have arisen from it in this century.

[@barbaram5787]

Absolutely. Why don't those in government that say they support equality find ways to get those points out in the public more. The other side does a great job of fearmongering their false statements. Ya, I know they are still rich government too.🤦‍♀️

[@sharko5300]

I worked for SSA for years. The cap has been there since its inception. But, as Mr Reich has pointed out, wealth has become so distorted in this country that it is damaging society in general.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Of course. The rich need to keep the slaves in poverty and pit them against one another.

[@darrennew8211]

But wealthy people don't have a lot of income. They have a lot of wealth, and a lot of credit. Musk can go from $200B to zero without spending a dime.

[@calamityjean1525]

@@Novastar.SaberCombat When SS was first started in the 1930s, the tax cap was high enough that 90% of all the earnings in the nation were subject to SS Tax.

[@mjc0961]

@@darrennew8211 Elon's not gonna give you a free blue checkmark, get off his dick

[@soxfan]

plus added benies, more people who never contributed ,using $$ for more than intended

[@tylerhackner9731]

It needs to be strengthened and protected

[@danithompson8743]

My husband once had a six-figure job and about September each year he would hit the cap. Money would go straight to his check and we used that extra for Christmas or vacations. As a tax accountant, I always thought this was bad--people who earn a comfortable living get 6.2% higher wage for three months, the company gets to keep their 6.2% share to the bottom line, and low income people get further behind. So unfair. This isn't the only area that needs to be fixed, but it is a start. The wage base is tied to a maximum benefit for retirees, so that should be adjusted up as well--more benefit the more you pay in over your working life--but this would help all people including lower-income ones.

[@bluelady549]

Thank you for sharing your expertise with us.

[@jackpleb2360]

All of that was nonsense rambling. The currency is just debt. Our money isn't money at all. Fix the money, boomers. You broke the world.

[@SearTrip]

Yes, it’s people who make over the cap who actually understand how little it effects the people who make over the cap. That’s what I found when I was in that bracket. But people get brainwashed that it’s somehow unfair. Why do things always have to be scrupulously fair when it could inconvenience the rich, but not so much when it works in their favor?

[@TheCommonS3Nse]

While I agree that the cap is unfair, I don’t think it’s the primary issue with social security and the methods of funding social security. I remember reading a quote from FDR with regards to social security, in which he stated that the plan to have a separate tax for social security was 100% a political decision and had nothing to do with the financial requirements. The State can backstop the social security program. There is no legitimate financial reason that it can’t be funded by general tax revenue or Federal debt. The only reason for the social security tax was to give people that sense of entitlement. I paid for this benefit, and I am therefore entitled to this benefit. When people feel that they have a genuine entitlement to something, it’s going to be nearly impossible to convince them to give it up. The issue comes in when wages don’t keep up with inflation. In that case, the taxes that are coming out of paychecks to fund Social Security remain tied to the lower wages, not the rising cost of living, but the benefits received at the end are tied to inflation. So you have a declining tax rate at the same time you have an increasing tax burden. Removing the cap would help to alleviate that imbalance, but it wouldn’t do anything to help with the lower wages. The people at the bottom would still be paying the same amount in taxes, and the middle class would be paying a bit more in taxes. The rich would simply find another way to structure their income. If it’s capped, then the rich don’t really care about this tax because it’s a drop in the bucket. If there is no cap, then the rich will simply restructure their pay to receive more in-kind benefits, or stock options, or other loopholes to reduce the actual “pay check” that the social security tax is drawn from. I think it would be far better to just backstop the social security program with Federal funds, and then work on gradually creating more balance in the funding structures, maybe through raising the cap, or by raising the minimum wage to ensure that more people can actually hit the cap and experience that portion of the year with a higher pay check.

[@rm3141593]

​@@TheCommonS3Nse hummm raise minimum wage so much to make more people hit that cap. That is one hell of a raise!! I agree it'd be great but I don't think that's a practical solution unfortunately😢. You've got to start somewhere though, and "scrap the cap" sounds good to me.

[@renatocorvaro6924]

The thought of Robert Reich retiring makes me immensely sad. We still need him.

[@davidschneider6306]

He’s a fighter. He will never quit.

[@tapdancingcowgirl4767]

As a progressive, it irks me that Biden never talks about this SS dilemma. 😢

[@patmcbride9853]

Just like Goebbels, eh?

[@snorfallupagus6014]

@@tapdancingcowgirl4767 As a progressive, you will never learn.

[@sct4040]

He is still working to educate, it’s important work.

[@jim6798]

Major inequality in this country is that the overwhelming majority of people that still receive pensions are government workers (I.e. teachers, police, federal, state workers, etc,) we pay for those pensions. Hardly any pensions left in the private sector.

[@catedney4165]

It’s BACKWARDS!!! Who ever makes more Money should PAY MORE !!! SCRAPE THE CAP ASAP!!!