To the editor: For wage earners, the Social Security tax is currently 6.2% for both employee and employer for the first $184,500 of annual wages, falling to zero on all wages beyond that (self-employed individuals pay 12.4% of the first $184,500 of net earnings).
A commonly suggested remedy for the projected reserve fund depletion is to simply extend or eliminate the taxable wage cap, which is currently annually adjusted upward for inflation (“The Social Security crisis should be dominating the Senate campaign,” June 12). What never seems to be considered is adjusting the tax rate. I would think that going from a fixed rate to a regressive rate would procure more revenue and could actually reduce the tax for most wage earners (important for political acceptance).
It could look something like this: 6% tax on employer and employee on the first $200,000 earned; 5% on the next $100,000; followed by 4% to 3% to 2% on $100,000 increments to eventually 1% for earnings over $600,000 annually. While this would not procure the same revenue as simply eliminating the wage cap, it would be much more palatable politically.
Bob Fey, Orange
