OPINION:
Social Security is a tax. President Obama knows this or he wouldn’t say “middle-class families shouldn’t pay higher tax rates than millionaires” (“Obama proudly declares class war,” Commentary, Friday).
Every wage earner, even an illegal immigrant using a fraudulent Social Security number, pays a 6.2 percent Social Security tax and a 1.45 percent Medicare tax. That’s a total of 7.65 percent. For 2011 alone, as part of the economic stimulus, the Social Security portion was reduced to 4.2 percent, for a total of 5.65 percent.
When a wage-earner’s gross pay exceeds $106,800 for the 2011 calendar year, this 4.2 percent is no longer deducted. That is why Mr. Obama can insinuate that a millionaire’s tax rate is lower. And this is why GOP presidential contender Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is so ingenious. Mr. Cain’s proposed 9 percent personal flat-tax rate includes Social Security. With Social Security and Medicare at 7.65 percent, this is only 1.25 percent more. And it would not phase out for high wage earners, either.
If you want to personally compare Mr. Cain’s proposed 9-9-9 policy, grab a pay stub from 2010 (with the 7.65 percent rate), multiply your gross pay by .09 and compare that number to the total of all your withholdings for Social Security, Medicare and federal tax.
NANCY S. KYME
Woodbridge, Va.
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