Recently, some politicians have floated the idea that Social Security should be privatized or even reduced, so people will be encouraged to “get a haircut and get a job.”
On the other side, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is recommending the idea that Social Security payments should be increased by raising the income tax from the current cap of $118,000 to include incomes of up to $1 million.
This idea makes a lot of sense to me. Millionaires have made a lot of money because of their employees, their customers or both. No one succeeds alone or in a vacuum.
If the Social Security tax was set to a higher income, it would generate more funding for Social Security payments that are sorely needed by older, lower-income working Americans. I also feel that we should lower the age for receiving Social Security to 60 as many working Americans have lost jobs, and it is much harder for an older person to get hired if your potential employer feels that you are almost at retirement age.
I have a close relative who has been job hunting for almost a year, was recently hired and then, six months later, laid off in a reduction of force due to losing a contract. He has seen younger people with fewer skills hired into jobs that he could have done well.
There are a lot of reasons some people have to not hire an older person: “They might know more than me.” “I do not want to supervise a person as old as my dad/mom.” “This person is 60; they are going to quit as soon as they can collect retirement/Social Security” – and many other reasons that, in many ways, are against the law and common sense.
So, if this letter makes sense to my fellow readers, I would ask them to contact Sens. Bennet and Gardner as well as Rep. Tipton to recommend some positive changes to our Social Security system that acknowledge the contributions and value of our older fellow Americans.
Ray Finney
Pagosa Springs
