Free Republic

Many Americans rely on Social Security benefits to see them through retirement, but how much should they really be depending on those checks? Not very much, experts said. Social Security is not being used as it was intended, said Ric Edelman, executive chairman and co-founder of Edelman Financial Services in Fairfax, Va. and author of “The Truth about Your Future.” When Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the system in 1933, the program was designed to be a safety net for Americans — for those who had no financial support. Now, “a great many Americans are relying heavily on...

What do you call a tax break that delivers 88% of the benefits to upper-income families and subsidizes rich states at the expense of poor ones? If you're a Democrat, you call it a sacred cow. One provision of the Republican's tax-cutting plan that has drawn intense opposition from Democrats is the elimination of state and local tax deductions for those who itemize. Rep. Nancy Pelosi said it was "an insidious effort to raise taxes on middle class families … across America." Sen. Ron Wyden said that "hardworking middle-class folks are not going to appreciate Congress double taxing them." New...