Social Security can be saved very simply.

[Pab Sungenis]

Lift the FICA cap.

[Ineeda]

1. Yup. n/t

[still_one]

2. and no one EVER brings it up as a solution /nt

[LiberalAndProud]

8. Al Franken did when he was on the radio.

I haven't heard much from him on this front since he took his seat. Wonder why?

[pansypoo53219]

9. butbutbut that would be PUNISHING SUCCESS!

how dare we have SHARED SACRIFICE?

[still_one]

18. It is a very good question. I have called my representative and Senators regarding this, but

suspect it falls on deaf ears

[TheWraith]

19. Obama has, repeatedly.

It's been mentioned since the campaign as his preferred solution.

[still_one]

20. I don't doubt you, but I sure don't recall him saying it recently. /nt

[socialist_n_TN]

3. Social Security doesn't NEED to be saved

It's good for decades. But lifting the cap would pretty much head off any problems in perpetuity.

[kick-ass-bob]

4. That's too easy.

K&R

unfortunately, the 'R' still reads 0. :(

[Angry Dragon]

5. +1000

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Thanks. We need to keep saying this loud and clear.

[Blue Meany]

7. Nonsense. It can only be saved by destroying it. n/t

[dmallind]

10. Which would greatly change the nature and intent of the program.

Personally I am fine with the idea, but as anyone who has read one of those SS mailings you get every year will know, your benefits depend on your payments. Yes there is a floor, and yes additional dollars over a certain level get a lower ratio of "payback", but you max out at $103k or whatever and every dollar up to that buys you a tiny bit more in benefits. SS was sold that way and designed that way - the more you pay the more you get, but only to the comfortable middle class income level on both fronts. I'll never get any SS back myself, but if I had that lifespan and with continued earnings as history I would get exactly the same benefits as Goldman's CEO, because I would have paid in the max for 30 years or more. Now what fairly meaningless amount I would get over the max will not break the SS fund, any more than the extra taxes would break me (snd which I would gladly pay). But fo you want SS paying out to Lloyd based on his $50mm+ a year?

[Pab Sungenis]

14. Not so much if we lift it to, say, $250K a year

for a ten year period.

[hifiguy]

11. It really is that simple

And it seems no politician has the intestinal fortitude to make that simple suggestion. Bastards.

[unblock]

12. i have an even better solution:

just change the idioticly pessimistic forecasting assumptions.

social security only looks like it's in eventual trouble because they're forecasting lower than historical growth.

[socialist_n_TN]

15. As I said in my post, it's NOT in trouble

That's a RW meme. At least not for decades even by the pessimistic assumptions. But lifting the cap WOULD keep it solvent basically forever.

[blondeatlast]

13. Yup. nt

[unblock]

16. my ideal solution for saving social security:

vote out the republicans!

this has the added benefit of also solving a whole host of other problems.

[damntexdem]

17. Or eliminate it.

And upping the income tax rates for the rich could save the rest of the social contract.