Secret Deals for Social Security

From the AJC, registration required

I had not seen anything about this Congressional testimony by U.S. Treasury chief, Henry Paulson until I was browsing the AJC Opinion page.

Mr. Paulson, formerly of Goldman Sachs, wants to make a few deals behind closed doors to solve the 'insolvency problems' with Roosevelts' Social Security program.

That would be the program to keep our elderly folks from living in adject poverty. About 40% of elderly Americans lived under terrible conditions prior to Roosevelts' New Deal. In an effort to keep people from thinking of the program as 'charity,' Roosevelt created a broad tax. Everyone who worked would pay something into a fund. Everyone with a need could get a monthly check after age 65.

The program details have changed over the years. The biggest change comes from how we collect the tax. Some personal income is now exempt from taxation. Completely exempt. For example, if I work by the hour, I pay the tax in full on every dollar earned. If I get paid a weekly salary, I pay the full tax on every dollar earned until I earn about $50,000.

If I make a sweet heart stock deal, I pay no taxes on the windfall.

If my employer pays me a stock bonus, I pay no taxes.

If I wheel and deal in futures markets, currency markets, or the real estate market, I skip the taxes.

However, if I am self-employed, I pay double the normal tax rate.

Back to the former Goldman Sachs employee. His former company paid billions in employee bonuses just a few weeks ago. I don't think we should trust Mr. Paulson to negotiate for us. Not in public and not behind closed doors. When he returns to private industry, and he will, that industry may be in control of the current 3.5 trillion dollar Social Security surplus.

That is enough to disqualify him from the process of solving the 'insolvency' of Social Security.