Max Richtman, the head of the “National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare” — which are in no danger of extinction — writes to dispute my views on the first program. I’ll take it line by line.
Social Security used to capture revenue from about 92 percent of taxable earnings, but the current payroll wage cap ($184,500 annually) now includes only about 82 percent of the nation’s eligible earnings. The wealthy are paying proportionally less, depriving Social Security of much-needed revenue.
As Richtman’s own source notes, the last time that number hit 92 percent was 1940. The average percentage over the
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