I agree. I see that W is quiet about it, but I do think he'd sign a bill for this if it got to him.
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Has it occurred to these spineless Republicans that letting Social Security tank would be an even bigger "vote loser?" I know I'm not thrilled about being forced to flush my money down the Socialist Security toilet!
How about just give me back my $$$ and I will handle it. I'll take the compounded interest hit from not having from before.
My SS reform plan? Convert the employer half of the payroll tax into an NRST; this would pay for current entitlements. Employees will take home the other half. We can easily do this by tacking on an additional $5,500 (employee share of payroll taxes x $80,000, which is the amount of income that is actually taxed) on to the IRA contribution limit. The IRA limit is already going to be bumped to $7,000 in the near future, so this will make it $12,500. For a couple, that means $25,000 in possible IRA contributions per year! $25k x 40 years = $1m without figuring in interest. With a annual 7% interest rate, the couple will have a $5.8M retirement fund at age 65!!!
Putting 1/2 in the hands of individuals and 1/2 into the Gov't falls in line with the CATO plan, which ensures that even if somebody loses a lot of money in the market, a SS check can be provided at 125% of the poverty line.
Converting 1/2 into the NRST will (1) make all IRA contributions entirely tax-free (including payroll) and would serve as a test-bed for the feasibility of collecting the NRST. It'd be only 3% or so, so it would be very do-able. As it proves workable, our permanent majority in Congress (oh yeah, it's happening; just look at the trending) can gradually shift more and more programs into the NRST.