Bush Open To Ideas On Social Security. MSM And Democrats Cry Foul

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said his party would be attacked for advocating tax increases if it embraced the idea. "We're not going to fall for that," he said.

Gee, getting the hint ? Too bad Boxer, Clinton, Kerry, Kennedy and Pelosi haven't.

Bush said Thursday that members of Congress should feel free to make any such proposals "without political retribution."

From him anyway. He's smart (something you Moonbats still haven't figured out). He knows that he doesn't have to say anything. The alternative media will rip them to pieces.

"What I'm saying to members of Congress is that we have a problem, come together and let's fix it, and bring your ideas forward."

Of course he knows that they have no intention of being part of the solution. They want people to be dependent on big government, to be dependent on them.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats described Bush's offer as a ploy to get them to put forward unpopular proposals.

So they are finally realizing that their ideas are unpopular ? That the majority of Americans see their ideas as bankrupt ? Huh. If they hadn't elected Dean The Scream as their Chairman, I'd think there was hope for them.

They said they remained opposed to his plan, and they unveiled a Web site calculator designed to show workers they would be worse off than under current law.

Interesting, President Bush is proposing a voluntary program. One that Government workers have enjoyed for years. But we the unwashed masses aren't intelligent enough to utilize. TLM (Typical Liberal Mentality).

As is, beginning as early as 2018, the system is set to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes. And by 2042, the money stored up from past surpluses will be exhausted and Social Security will only be able to pay 73 percent of promised benefits from the revenues it will be taking in, according to the program's trustees. Eliminating the cap on wages subject to taxation would push those dates back. An analysis written last week by Social Security actuaries found that eliminating the cap would mean the system would continue to collect more than it paid out until 2025, and would stay solvent for 75 years, the window traditionally used to evaluate the program's finances.

Totally ignoring human nature. If you were taxed more after you reached a certain income level, to the point that you were effectively no longer keeping any more money, wouldn't you make damned sure the next year you made just under that amount ?

Bush wants a permanent fix, and he says his plan for private accounts would help achieve it. This would allow younger workers to divert 4 percentage points of their tax into personal accounts that could be invested in stocks and bonds, which have historically earned more than Social Security trust funds do.

Bush wants a permanent fix. Good. Four percentage points. A lousy four points ! What in the hell is so alarming about that ? It's next to nothing ! "Social Security trust funds". Big LIE ! There never were any trust funds ! The Demoncrats "borrowed" from SS to fund everything else in the past fifty years ! There never was a "lock box". The money never was there, it isn't there. Leave it to the MSM to repeat the standard LIE.

Just 6 percent of American workers earn more than $90,000 per year, and wages over this threshold are not taxed for Social Security. In all, there is $845 billion in payroll that won't be taxed by Social Security this year.

Just 6 percent. Do the math people. If you start over taxing those six percent, how many do you think will still be making over $90,000 per year the second year ? It will be Atlas Shrugged.

The impact of doing so (increasing the wages) would be felt on the wealthiest Americans. It could cost a worker earning $120,000 per year $1,860 more, and his employer the same. A worker who earned $150,000 would pay an extra $3,700 in taxes, with her employer paying an equal amount.

Employer paying an equal amount. Gee, wonder how many jobs would be lost because the employer could no longer afford them ?

Some lawmakers propose raising the cap but not eliminating it. Raising the limit so that wages up to $160,000 were taxed, for instance, would generate about $525 billion over 10 years.

Again, ignoring human behavior, thinking people would continue to behave as though they were not be taxed beyond their desire to pay. I for one would make sure my salary was $159,999.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggests lifting the cap to $200,000 a year, which would raise nearly $1 trillion over a decade nearly enough to pay for the transition.

See above. What an idiot.