The "Right" Thing

The financial shortfalls projected to hit Social Security nearly three decades from now can be easily eliminated by simply increasing the Social Security payroll withholding cap from the current $106,000 to a cap of $250,000, or perhaps even higher.

The White House and Capitol Hill know this simple fix would make Social Security solvent forever, but both sides are playing stupid to the peril of the overwhelming majority of Americans...
~ from Why Can't Presidents and Media Tycoons Just 'Do the Right Thing'? by Linn Washington, Jr. ~

The simple answer to Washington's question is that there is no across-the-board RIGHT thing. It is rather obvious WHY neither the Obama administration nor Congress wants to discuss raising the income cap -- it isn't the right thing for Corporate America. If Social Security became forever solvent with no worries of future default, politicians on both sides of the aisle would lose a powerful political scare tactic to brandish about at will.

Another seemingly "right" thing would be to rein in defense spending. If this nation wasn't in so many wars -- declared and not -- and we quit trying to serve as a unilateral world police force, our national budget woes wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as they are today.

But reining in defense spending isn't the right thing for Corporate America and the wealthy elite. Under the auspices of war, they continue to fatten their wallets. Less war would mean less profit. Who wants to give away such a magical cash cow?

Of course, when Washington writes the "right thing," he means the right thing for the vast majority. The problem here is that those in our nation's capitol are more focused on the right thing for themselves. They want to be in the position to be reelected and, to have the resources to be reelected, they must concentrate on the right thing for those who fund their campaigns.

And, if I must spell it out, you and I aren't the funders they pay attention to!