Social Security has made it so that senior citizens went from being the demographic group most likely to live in poverty in 1935 to the demographic group least likely to live in poverty.
Some folks say they could have done better investing on their own then what they’ll get from Social Security. That’s true. But many would also have done worse, and many may not have invested at all.
And Social Security is not just about retirement. It provides income to families with kids who lose a parent. It provides income to the permanently disabled and Medicare provides health coverage to the permanently disabled and those with end stage renal disease. We might do better than Social Security for retirement, but it would be almost impossible to replicate the lifelong safety net for situations described in this paragraph.
As for your “fair share,” that is subjective for sure. But I think we can start with the wealthiest should at least pay the same percentage of their income as everyone else. Warren Buffett has said many times that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. That being said, oppressive taxes on the rich will not solve our dilemma. There must be some combination of more revenue and less spending to balance the budget. It was done 4 straight years in the late 90’s and that’s it for many decades.
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