The Buffett Rule, 6/100ths of one percent.

[soonerwings]

I understand the argument that FICA taxes aren't strictly income tax, but it seems that some people claim it's not just to be able to say people don't pay "income taxes".

Maybe it's because the people that only pay FICA/Medicare aren't contributing to things paid for by the general fund. I can see why the 53% of people that pay INDIVIDUAL income tax get miffed about the 47% that don't.

 

[LightningCrash]

SSA.gov says that "The Social Security Trust Fund was created in 1939 as part of the Amendments enacted in that year. From its inception, the Trust Fund has always worked the same way. The Social Security Trust Fund has never been "put into the general fund of the government."

"Most likely this myth comes from a confusion between the financing of the Social Security program and the way the Social Security Trust Fund is treated in federal budget accounting. Starting in 1969 (due to action by the Johnson Administration in 1968) the transactions to the Trust Fund were included in what is known as the "unified budget." This means that every function of the federal government is included in a single budget. This is sometimes described by saying that the Social Security Trust Funds are "on-budget." This budget treatment of the Social Security Trust Fund continued until 1990 when the Trust Funds were again taken "off-budget." This means only that they are shown as a separate account in the federal budget. But whether the Trust Funds are "on-budget" or "off-budget" is primarily a question of accounting practices--it has no affect on the actual operations of the Trust Fund itself."

That illustrates my point perfectly, thank you.

Maybe it's because the people that only pay FICA/Medicare aren't contributing to things paid for by the general fund. I can see why the 53% of people that pay INDIVIDUAL income tax get miffed about the 47% that don't.

From socialsecurity.gov: "What happens to the taxes that go into the trust funds? Tax income is deposited on a daily basis and is invested in "special-issue" securities. The cash exchanged for the securities goes into the general fund of the Treasury and is indistinguishable from other cash in the general fund. "

 

[soonerwings]

From socialsecurity.gov: "What happens to the taxes that go into the trust funds? Tax income is deposited on a daily basis and is invested in "special-issue" securities. The cash exchanged for the securities goes into the general fund of the Treasury and is indistinguishable from other cash in the general fund. "

I'll rephrase. I can see why the 53% of people that pay INDIVIDUAL income taxes get miffed. They're paying taxes into the general fund in addition to the money that they're already being fleeced out of by the scam known as social security. The 47% are only getting fleeced once, as opposed to the double fleecing that everyone else receives.