# Why is there a cap on Social Security tax? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002 "2011-09-29T11:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/21 "2011-09-29T19:07:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I think the “Why” is not something that can be factually established. The “Why” is just political blathering. The SS laws are the “What”, and that’s all that can be factually established. The cap was part of the original program, and the program itself was pretty widely debated when it was passed. I’d be surprised if the people that wrote the legislation didn’t explain at some point what the purpose of the cap was for. So I imagine there’s a factual answer (I guess the writers of the SS act might lie about what the purpose of the cap was, but that doesn’t seem particularly likely) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/22 "2011-09-29T19:13:22Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > The cap was part of the original program, and the program itself was pretty widely debated when it was passed. I’d be surprised if the people that wrote the legislation didn’t explain at some point what the purpose of the cap was for. So I imagine there’s a factual answer (I guess the writers of the SS act might lie about what the purpose of the cap was, but that doesn’t seem particularly likely) You must have mistyped something there. It reads as if you are saying politicians are unlikely to lie. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/23 "2011-09-29T19:57:49Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > What with all of this talk about class warfare, Buffett laws, and Social Security not being so secure, why is everyone so focused on income taxes? I am surprised that nobody is standing up to say that the Social Security tax should have no ceiling. Currently, only income up to $106,800 (this year) is taxed. Someone with a salary of $1 million has only about 10% of regular income taxed for Social Security, vs. 100% for a middle-income person, and his capital gains are not taxed for Social Security at all. > > Why isn’t that a no-brainer to help fix Social Security? Because it’s still a tax increase. Let’s say we double the SS wage cap. Now we’re looking at about an additional $15,000 of tax for the taxpayer you’re talking about. The fact that you’re raising the Social Security tax limit rather than some other tax is just a matter of semantics - it’s no more or less a no-brainer than any tax increase. The pros/cons of raising taxes is definitely a matter for GD. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/24 "2011-09-29T20:58:47Z")
What does fairness have to do with it? If I drop dead tomorrow, I’ll have paid into it and never get to see any of it. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/25 "2011-09-29T21:28:33Z")
Let me clarify the intent of the OP. Although this topic certainly has the potential to draw differing opinions and debate, I am looking for a factual answer to the question, Why do politicians talk about raising income taxes on the wealthy, but have not proposed increasing Social Security taxes on the wealthy? It is possible that the only answer to this could be an opinion but I think that someone who is savvy about politics and the economy than me can offer an analysis that is at least based in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/26 "2011-09-29T21:49:34Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Let me clarify the intent of the OP. Although this topic certainly has the potential to draw differing opinions and debate, I am looking for a factual answer to the question, > Why do politicians talk about raising income taxes on the wealthy, but have not proposed increasing Social Security taxes on the wealthy? > It is possible that the only answer to this could be an opinion but I think that someone who is savvy about politics and the economy than me can offer an analysis that is at least based in fact. Well, the non-opinion portion of **Chessic Sense** ’s reply was correct. Traditionally, the model for SS is (i) it’s supposed to provide a minimum income in retirement (which is why benefits are capped; it is not a replacement for all retirement saving), and (ii) you take out roughly in connection what you’ve paid in (which rough connection would be upset if benefits remained capped but withholding was not similarly limited). OASDI is modeled on insurance, not welfare (which latter would be SSI). ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/27 "2011-09-29T22:01:17Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > What with all of this talk about class warfare, Buffett laws, and Social Security not being so secure, why is everyone so focused on income taxes? I am surprised that nobody is standing up to say that the Social Security tax should have no ceiling. Currently, only income up to $106,800 (this year) is taxed. Someone with a salary of $1 million has only about 10% of regular income taxed for Social Security, vs. 100% for a middle-income person, and his capital gains are not taxed for Social Security at all. > > Why isn’t that a no-brainer to help fix Social Security? I’m guessing the reason medicare and social security had the tax was to ensure that those were considered programs people paid into and got out of, them being seen as wealth transfer programs would be bad PR. Medicare used to have a tax cap like SS that stopped at the 90th or 95th percentile of wages (I can’t remember the cutoff to the cap), but the Clinton administration abolished it in 1993 and now medicare is taxed at 2.9% of all wages, not just the top 90-95%. And medicare is stronger because of it. Lifting the cap would close the shortfall very effectively. But in this anti-tax climate (especially anti-taxes on the wealthy, most of the anti-tax rhetoric politicians spew revolves around taxes on the wealthy, not taxes the working class, poor and middle class pay) a tax hike on wealthy people won’t go far. > **[Go Ahead and Lift the Cap](https://www.dollarsandsense.org/go-ahead-and-lift-the-cap/)** > > Assessing a Campaign Flyer on Social Security ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002/28 "2011-09-30T11:46:27Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Let me clarify the intent of the OP. Although this topic certainly has the potential to draw differing opinions and debate, I am looking for a factual answer to the question, > Why do politicians talk about raising income taxes on the wealthy, but have not proposed increasing Social Security taxes on the wealthy? > It is possible that the only answer to this could be an opinion but I think that someone who is savvy about politics and the economy than me can offer an analysis that is at least based in fact. It boils down to politics… “raise taxes on the wealthy because of some assinine Buffett Law” is better politics than “raise social security taxes (even if its only on the wealthy)”. The first brings poor little old secretaries into the equation while the latter brings retirees into it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-cap-on-social-security-tax/598002.md?page=1)