NEWS: Bush weighs Social Security tax hike on some, page 1

Speaking to supporters in New Hampshire today, President Bush refused to rule out raising the tax cut off to help pay for Social Security. The cutoff right now is set at $90,000 dollars a year. The President has previously stated he was against raising the tax level but advisor's have never fully committed to that. He has however insisted that the payroll tax, currently 12.4 percent will not go up.

www.msnbc.msn.com
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - President Bush says he has not ruled out raising taxes on those who earn more than $90,000 a year to help bolster Social Security’s finances.

Under the current system, payroll taxes are paid only on the first $90,000 in wages. Bush has repeatedly said that he opposes raising taxes, but his advisers have been intentionally vague about whether he would also rule out subjecting a greater share of pay to the existing tax.

Asked directly, Bush said that he would not rule out raising that cap, though he does not want to see the payroll tax rate go up. The rate is now 12.4 percent of pay, split between workers and employers.

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This would be an way to salvage the system without privatizing a portion of it perhaps. If the income cap was raised to say $200,000 would that help the system over the long haul. I think the answer is yes, but for how long? Certainly long enough to get us out of the boomer crisis and perhaps buy time for a measured evaluation of the system. However, its almost impossible to get anybody to do anything unless you actually have a crisis brewing.