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Trump’s Social Security proposal could be his biggest political weapon
American Thinker ^ | 08/13/2024 | Gerald McGlothlin

Posted on 08/13/2024 10:34:54 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

With Kamala Harris becoming a rock star by inviting rock stars to open her act, it’s clear she’s focused on generating excitement through pure fluff. But whereas Harris captures headlines with showmanship, Donald Trump has an opportunity to resonate deeply with a far more substantial and often overlooked voting bloc: those who have paid into the Social Security system. If Trump zeroes in on this group, he can unlock a political goldmine that could propel him back into the White House.

In what even the New York Times admits could be a game-changer, Trump has proposed ending income taxes on Social Security benefits. This proposal speaks directly to millions of Americans who feel the sting of being taxed twice on the money they’ve worked their entire lives to earn. It’s a commonsense policy that cuts through the noise of partisan bickering and addresses a core issue that affects a massive segment of the population.

The Democrats now find themselves in somewhat of a pickle, wrapped in a conundrum in the midst of a riddle. They can’t win for losing on this. If they oppose Trump’s proposal, they risk alienating retirees — a group that’s already feeling the pinch of inflation and looking for relief. Moreover, they would have to explain why a tax break for Social Security was acceptable when proposed by Democrats in the past but suddenly becomes unpalatable when Trump suggests it.

Critics argue that eliminating the tax could reduce government revenues by $1.8 trillion over the next decade. But this perspective ignores the fundamental unfairness of taxing Social Security benefits in the first place. This money isn’t new income; it’s a return on years of hard work and contributions. For the government to tax it again is not only unjust, but also counterproductive,

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: socialsecurity; taxes
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Now to top it, why not also propose the elimination of the death ( or estate ) tax?
1 posted on 08/13/2024 10:34:54 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

2 posted on 08/13/2024 10:39:52 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: SeekAndFind

Basically wants to turn social security from a 401K to a Roth IRA.


3 posted on 08/13/2024 10:39:53 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: SeekAndFind

He could also think about eliminating the social security death benefit. $240 doesn’t help much anyway.


4 posted on 08/13/2024 10:42:33 AM PDT by virgil (The evil that men do lives after them )
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To: SeekAndFind

“Critics argue that eliminating the tax could reduce government revenues by $1.8 trillion over the next decade.”

A reminder that Xiden dreadfully overspent and piled about that amount on the federal debt in 200 days and our uniparty congress gave him the money to do so.


5 posted on 08/13/2024 10:43:11 AM PDT by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute. )
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To: SeekAndFind

You can’t be serious about the national debt, or even the annual deficit, without reforming and reducing entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. Any proposal that ignores these is just more political fluff.


6 posted on 08/13/2024 10:45:24 AM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king (Just a Texas Playboy at heart!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Get rid of those damn property taxes too my mom pays 18,000 for her house


7 posted on 08/13/2024 10:46:19 AM PDT by Sarah Barracuda
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To: SeekAndFind
”They would have to explain why a tax break for Social Security was acceptable when proposed by Democrats in the past but suddenly becomes unpalatable when Trump suggests it.”

That one’s exceedingly simple, though it would force the dems to be honest: “Trump said it, so we’re again’ it.”

8 posted on 08/13/2024 10:46:53 AM PDT by cross_bearer_02
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To: Bob Wills is still the king

Bullshit!


9 posted on 08/13/2024 10:49:38 AM PDT by SoConPubbie (Trump has all the right enemies, DeSantis has all the wrong friends.)
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To: SeekAndFind

With this proposal and eliminating tax on tips, you could fire the 87,000 IRS agents so that they can get real, tax-paying jobs in the private sector.


10 posted on 08/13/2024 10:52:05 AM PDT by Empire_of_Liberty
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To: SeekAndFind

Two things happened to Social Security- both done by a@@hole demoncrats.

1.) The first, done by LBJ(!!) was to count the Social Security Trust Fund INTO the General Revenue funds of the United States, in order to balance the “budge” in the face of Great Society handouts. This was a criminal act and Congress went along with it as another “handout” empowerment.
SO— This should STOP right away. Make the government function on ACTUAL taxes from the world of commerce, and not pilfer retirement funding. Dramatic effect on the jackasses out spending using borrowed money from the Fed Reserve and paying it back from General Revenue (which includes SS Trust Fund).
2.) Bill Clinton/dems began taxing Social Security as a)income, as a “taxable amount from a table/calculation) and b) reducing payout of Social Security by a monthly premium for Medicare— paid OUT OF THE Social Security Trust Fund!! and now Medicare is monumentally going bankrupt because of all the “yahoooo!” billable items rolled into medicare, and the premium goes UP every year since, along with so called Medicare Advantage plans supposedly “offsetting” the monthly premium paid by people on Social Security.

Trump does all this and stops any taxation of Social Security retirement benefits— and our government will HAVE to have a budget like everyone else has to watch spending every day vs. income revenue. Mark Levin asks the question every time— “how much money does the Fed gov take in a month in revenue” and “as such the govt. MUST pay debt obligations,and always has had enough to do so— if it would not spend the revenue away on political pet new items of handout and redistribution” This is the way the big LIE we will go “bankrupt and not pay our national debts” — because the Treasury deliberately does NOT pay the national debt FIRST, and then screams it needs to borrow from... The Federal Reserve Bank (a private bank, btw).

This is how, even pilfering from the SS Trust Fund (where is the Trust Fund? The joke horribly true is that it is in a data center in West Virginia, full of I0Us from the US Govt) the US govt is 100 Trillion in unpayable, unfunded liabilities.


11 posted on 08/13/2024 10:54:24 AM PDT by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis )
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To: SoConPubbie

“Bullshit!”

___________________________________________________________

Such an insightful comment.

Perhaps you can tell everyone what percentage of the federal budget is dedicated to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. After you look at those, tell us how to cut them without harming those who depend on them in their old age.


12 posted on 08/13/2024 10:56:41 AM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king (Just a Texas Playboy at heart!)
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To: Bob Wills is still the king

Set aside the SS Trust Fund as it should always have been— until LBJ decided to place the Fund in US Govt. General Revenue column. It should never have been done- but hell it was freaking LBJ— balancing the budget in a FALSE action that was not supported by the Statutes for the Trust Fund.

Start with that- then watch the a@@holes handing away our retirement money— squeal like cut pigs- which they are, generally.


13 posted on 08/13/2024 10:58:27 AM PDT by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis )
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To: All

Kamala has focused on “generating excitement” for herself and Tim Walz.

In fact, the Disney people were so Inspired by the Harris/Walz excitement, Disney used its most beloved characters for a live action film production entitled, “Cruella de Vil and Goofy Go To Washington,” starring Glenn Close and Elton John as the stalwart Democrat candidates.

It’s non-binary, genital-neutral in technicolor, featuring people who aren’t exactly heterosexual,
but all-inclusive for people who don’t necessarily identify with the sex they were assigned at birth.

The popular Disney Rock band “The LGBTQ Replacements” will provide music,
and record a compilation album for Harris/Walz fund-raising purposes.

The film’s theme song, “All for Nothing / Nothing for All,” is historically based on the
Harris/Walz known political agenda, and will be issued in a Spanish version of the film.


14 posted on 08/13/2024 10:58:54 AM PDT by Liz
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To: Empire_of_Liberty

When did IRS agents stop paying income taxes?


15 posted on 08/13/2024 11:00:26 AM PDT by Kathy in OC
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To: cross_bearer_02

Since it was demoncrats who started taxing Social Security that is some kind of bullcrap to hear from them— as they redistribute retirement trust fund money accounted INTO the General Revenue Fund. They STOLE SS Trust Fund in the first place.. and then taxed individual benefits. Since LBJ and later especially Billy Cokenose Clinton.


16 posted on 08/13/2024 11:01:02 AM PDT by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis )
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To: SeekAndFind

Analysts and regular people, often overlook the fact that, cutting taxes, no matter from where, allows people to keep more of their money, and more money in people’s pockets means more spending into the economy and more economic activity. More economic activity, especially by consumers, means more people working and more earnings that could be taxed, thereby generating more tax revenue for government than what was lost with the tax cutting.

The ‘loss’ of $1.8 trillion over 10 years would easily be overshadowed by larger amount of tax revenue collected from the higher economic activity. The tax cuts to not go into a hole never to be seen again; that money is reinvested by consumers to generate a lot more income and a lot more tax revenue. Same with the -no-taxes on tips policy, where government estimates the ‘loss’ of some $220 billion over 10 years, All those tax cuts end up generating more in taxes in the long run, than the amounts that were cut in the first place.

Also notice that, when it comes to making tax cuts seem too high and unworkable, the estimates are for 10 years, making people wary of letting those cuts happen. Those tax cuts should be calculated for each year, which would make them more palatable and acceptable to normal folks. Scare tactics work, but they are also very hurtful.


17 posted on 08/13/2024 11:04:19 AM PDT by adorno (CCH)
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To: Kathy in OC

Do you think that people paid by taxes can pay taxes?

Even a school teacher can figure out that they can vote to raise taxes and come out ahead.


18 posted on 08/13/2024 11:04:36 AM PDT by Empire_of_Liberty
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To: John S Mosby

“Set aside the SS Trust Fund as it should always have been— until LBJ decided to place the Fund in US Govt. General Revenue column. It should never have been done- but hell it was freaking LBJ— balancing the budget in a FALSE action that was not supported by the Statutes for the Trust Fund.

Start with that- then watch the a@@holes handing away our retirement money— squeal like cut pigs- which they are, generally.”

_________________________________________________________

Give it a shot and see if it works. https://us.abalancingact.com/federal-budget-simulator


19 posted on 08/13/2024 11:05:01 AM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king (Just a Texas Playboy at heart!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Trump’s proposal is do good it would elect anybody living or dead. But he had the smarts to sponsor it first in this election. He’s actually quite politically astute


20 posted on 08/13/2024 11:09:39 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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