New Social Security: Self-Responsibility & Social Responsibility
Date: Thu, 6 May 1999 08:42:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: Walter Hart <tracy.hart@mci2000.com>
Subject: New Social Security: Self-Responsibility & Social Responsibility
New Social Security: Self-Responsibility & Social Responsibility
Social Security reform should create a new system that fairly establishes self-responsibility and social-responsibility:
(1) Self-Responsibility through payroll taxes - EACH WORKER funds his or her own personal retirement account through use of payroll taxes; and,
(2) Social-Responsibility through general federal taxes - EVERYONE contributes as general federal taxpayers on a progressive basis to the funding of a supplemental retirement benefit for those who (a) fail to accumulate a personal retirement account sufficient to yield a minimal level income, and (b) do not have other sufficient assets for a decent livelihood in retirement.
Failure to recognize this distinction of self and social responsibility will perpetuate a Social Security system that is widening the gap between rich and poor and deteriorating class mobility in the United States.
