What's your generation and how would you change your government?

[Eric the Green]

(03-26-2022, 03:08 PM)JasonBlack Wrote: 1) For purposes of social security, the age of retirement should be raised to 75, and include means-testing. The original purpose of social security was to support straggling survivors in an age where the average life expectancy was well under a decade less than present. It was never intended to support the 20+ retirements of individuals with little additional savings.
2) Social Security should be a progressive tax, not a disproportionate tax on the poor and young on the much more affluent old and asset-rich. As I support a decent number of cuts thereto, the maximum marginal rate would be equal to the current rate paid by everyone including the very poor.

In concept, I could agree with raising the retirement age further, as life spans increase. Note that it has already been raised a bit. But after 40 years of Reaganomics, and recent some years of anti-vax conspiracy theory, life spans are now shrinking. So these days, I would not support it. Unless our society becomes more equal, and not one where most people have to struggle to make ends meet or suffer lousy health because they can't afford otherwise, while the rich CEOs and financial speculators get hundreds of times the income than their workers get, then what we need are MORE "entitlements" and "wealth redistribution", and not less.

Raise the cap on the social security tax. But should it be progressive, or means tested? I think that defeats its purpose as a pay as you go program. It was never a wealth redistribution program, and its revenue has been diverted. Instead, it should not be the only social and economic safety net, and not the only tax to be raised either. Other programs should supplement it. Neoliberalism is becoming unworkable in an era when only well-educated people can get a good job. The bosses are giving most of the formerly middle-class manufacturing jobs to robots, and sending many other jobs overseas. If people have no money, no-one will be able to buy the products and services of the smaller workforce unless income guarantees are put in place. Labor saving devices should not just be something that saves money and improves productivity for the bosses alone. They don't own these tech advances, and didn't create them; they belong to all the people. Everyone should benefit. Some occupations like creative people should be paid more than they earn. Hours should be cut back, with wages raised, so that more people can get jobs and more people have more free time. This is so-far the opposite of what has happened over the last 40-plus years. But neoliberalism and trickle-down economics have passed their sell-by date. It was a bad buy to begin with.