I shop regularly at Trader Joe's and often see older people stocking the grocery shelves or managing the cash registers. They look old enough to be drawing Social Security checks. I often wonder whether these people work because they enjoy working or because their Social Security income is inadequate and they need the money.
Social Security income isn't taxed if the recipient has no other income. However, single people with income exceeding $25,000 (or $32,000 if married and filing jointly) must pay taxes on their Social Security benefits.
President Trump proposes to make Social Security income nontaxable, which would be a significant economic boost for older Americans who are drawing their Social Security and working at low-wage jobs in the service industry.
Many policy wonks oppose Trump's plan because they say affluent retirees would benefit the most.
To which I say so what? Low-income wage earners don't care how much wealthy Americans pay in taxes as long as their own tax burden decreases. Moreover, Trump's proposal to stop collecting taxes on Social Security can include a phase-out provision that excludes high-income retirees from receiving the tax break.
Other critics say Trump's proposal will hasten the day when the Social Security Trust Funds become insolvent. Most of these doomsday prophets had nothing to say about the money wasted on the Ukraine war or the USAID's fraud and abuse. No, they only worry about the government's solvency when a plan is proposed to give some tax relief to American seniors forced by inflation to cancel their retirement by taking low-wage service jobs.
About 67 million people receive Social Security benefits based on age. Most recipients receive modest Social Security checks; the average monthly benefit is only $1976. In these inflationary times, few can survive if their sole income is their Social Security check.
Nevertheless, 25 percent of American seniors get 90 percent of their income from Social Security. No wonder many elderly Americans have been forced back into the workforce.
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| Photo credit: Justin Sulivan/Getty Images |
There’s no evidence that there’s any waste fraud or abuse with USAID. There is however loads of waste with Trump taking laps at nascar or going to the Super Bowl, or spending every weekend since he’s been in office at his own golf course - to the tune of 10 million or more. That was wasted taxpayer monry. If he cared about actually finding sources of wasted cash then why fire the inspectors general?
ReplyDeleteOh and, where the wasted money with Ukraine? For one - we’ve been sending old military equipment not money. If anything that saves money because the old equipment was usually surplus equipment that would either be stored until disposal or disposed of. For larger items like tanks that can cost millions to dispose of. And there’s lots of tanks.
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