True, but I know personally many families who do work (both adults) 40 hours a week @ minimum wage. Total income weekly is $580 corabined for the pair. Now $580/week is ~ $30,000 / year. Figure that they are allowed $11,600 in write down due to standard deduction and their tax burden is now ~18,400. Add in a child and you deduct another $1000 and then the EIC (which I'm not a fan of) and their burden is nearly zero. However, they still paid FICA on the $30,000. Meaning that they have in fact paid in $435 for their Medicare portion of FICA and $1860 for their Social Security portion...in other worRAB 6.2% of your check goes to SS
If you are making $106,800 (current cap):
Your Medicare portion of FICA will be $1,548.60
Your Social Security portion of FICA will be $6,621.60... again 6.2%
@ $250,000:
Your Medicare portion of FICA will be $3,625.00
Your Social Security portion of FICA will be $6,621.60 ... now you are paying about 2.65%
What I'm getting at is Social Security is a regressive tax. How? Because the return of "investment" (horrible term, I know) is that the poor will receive the least benefit and pay the highest percent vs those at the top of the wage earnings who (by their own admission) don't need it when they retire.
Now, the argument I'm going to hear is "well, why don't these people find better jobs....." which is a good argument, however, if they do, then who is going to do the jobs that THEY are currently doing?
You can't eliminate the working poor in this country, they are needed just as much as the rich to do the jobs that the rest of us don't want to do....the shit jobs with shit pay and shit benefits. In all honesty, these people are just as vital to our economy as everyone else.