Removing the cap on income subject to Social Security tax basically turns Social Security into a welfare program, even if you adjust it for benefits. Social Security recipients who are in the bottom-third in terms of contributions make out far better than the top 10% do already, in terms of return on investment. While your plan would maintain solvency for a little while longer, why don't we just call that what it is? Welfare. You can argue that it's welfare now, but the proposals to remove the income cap would definitely make it a welfare program.
Sorry, when talking about removing income caps, I was just stating that social security is a flat tax for everyone except those that make more than around $100,000. They get to exclude part of their income. I really don’t see how that makes it a “welfare” program, and that issue is not what I wanted to focus on. The debt, interest on the debt, and health care spending are the biggest problems.
Social Security is an insurance program part of the Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurane (OASDI). I was not suggesting that the formula not include this income, if the cap was taken off. I was thinking of it as a simple stop-gap to increase cash flow temporarily, and buy some time to pay down debt, and reform health care.
I was not particularly advocating for or against it. Just stating that there are several options that are politically possible and likely, some of which have been implemented before, notably during the Reagan Administration.
The biggest problem is that the debt is now such a huge percentage of GDP, and the interest on the debt and growth of health care are so huge that the OASDI (social security) problem pales in comparison.