Would you call this waging war on seniors?

[Hawkeye]

GOP Sen. Johnson said that he'd like to "coax" seniors out of retirement to ease the labor shortage.

"If they want to get back and earn a few extra bucks, let them start working and don't charge them payroll tax," he said.
Johnson has also suggested putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every year.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said in a recent tele-town hall that he's in favor of enticing retirees to jump back into the workforce to help fix a persistent labor shortage.



"There are a number of innovative ideas I would support. Former Sen. Phil Gramm came to the Senate, we were talking about our labor shortage," Johnson said on Wednesday, referring to a past GOP senator from Texas. "One of his suggestions was to coax seniors that could re-enter the workforce — don't charge them payroll tax. They're not paying it anyway. So if they want to get back and earn a few extra bucks, let them start working and don't charge them payroll tax."

Payroll taxes are levied on workers' earnings and employers to finance Social Security and Medicare. Suspending or eliminating them would likely trigger Democratic opposition since that removes an important funding stream for both safety-net programs. It would also allow workers to pocket more of their paycheck during a stretch of high inflation.

Johnson's comments were first posted on Twitter by Heartland Signal, a liberal news site. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Republican's office said he was responding to a constituent and retiree who asked about returning to work without incurring any penalties.

"The senator is happy to reward seniors who want to go back to work," Alexa Henning, a Johnson spokesperson, said in a statement to Insider. "Especially since there is a severe labor shortage in Wisconsin and the labor force participation rate continues to languish."

"The senator wants to help seniors who are on a fixed income being crushed by Biden's inflation and the businesses that are unable to fill job openings across the state," Henning said.

Johnson is an ardent conservative seeking a third term in the US Senate. He's locked in a tough re-election battle against Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. The Democratic challenger seized on Johnson's comments to portray him as out of touch with older Wisconsinites.

"Ron Johnson's solution to the labor shortage: send seniors back to work," Barnes wrote on Twitter. "Why is Ron Johnson waging a war on our seniors and the benefits they've worked towards their entire lives?"

Johnson is no stranger to political blowback. Early last month, he suggested putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block annually in Congress to "fix" the programs. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported that Johnson said that Social Security was "set up improperly" and it'd be more useful to invest the money into the stock market during a campaign speech.

He also proposed attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act if Republicans retook control of Congress in the November midterms.

Employers continue hiring at a steady pace. The American economy added 315,000 jobs in August, Insider's Ben Winck and Madison Hoff reported. But job openings still outpace the number of available workers.

Economists have identified numerous factors to explain the labor shortage. People moved away from locations with open positions; parents haven't been able to return to work due to a lack of childcare; and available roles might not be the right fit — in terms of skills or pay — for people looking to switch jobs.

Other Republicans have also waded in with potential solutions to alleviate the scarcity of workers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in July that the labor shortage would end only after workers exhausted the savings they built up from federal relief efforts during the pandemic.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 1daaea932e

[Hawkeye]

I talked with a fellow OD who is in his 60s now. I told him I was struggling to save money. He advice was excellent. "Stop trying to save for retirement. I work four days/week now and have more money doing that than I could have ever saved. It still feels like a vacation."

So my question is why in the hell is he having to pay a social security payroll tax at all at 65 years old when he has chosen to work to finance his retirement by working? Whoever is charging a 65 year old worker social security tax is the one waging war on senior citizens and that is not conservatives.

[Gadianton]

"If they want to get back and earn a few extra bucks, let them start working and don't charge them payroll tax," he said.

The day that happens, Ajax will go into convulsions over it and rant for a week.

Why do you think government needs to intervene in the free market?

Economists have identified numerous factors to explain the labor shortage. People moved away from locations with open positions; parents haven't been able to return to work due to a lack of childcare; and available roles might not be the right fit — in terms of skills or pay — for people looking to switch jobs.

Other Republicans have also waded in with potential solutions to alleviate the scarcity of workers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in July that the labor shortage would end only after workers exhausted the savings they built up from federal relief efforts during the pandemic.

:shrug: semi-valid if predictable points. Economists seem stumped on this one. Being stumped is fine, it's better than the absolute certainty unhinged right-wingers have such as Hawkeye, who knows Ron DeSantis will fix everything, even if he has no plan nor platform other than anti-woke publicity stunts.

McConnell's suggestion isn't serious. It's a joke. BUT -- there is a valid impulse here. What financial incentives could be keeping people out of the game? Remember a while back we talked about Trump's trade war, how it cost the economy 1.7 trillion dollars, and how right-winger Jerome Powell offset Trumps losses by lowering interest rates? What happened as interest rates plummeted? Asset prices soared. Home values soared and the stock market soared. Recall, Trump then advertised himself as the big stock market president. Home values are still big. Even with the stock market sell off, look at the Nasdaq over the last 5 years, it's staggering.

Baby boomers were already slated to begin retirement in droves in the early 2020s. But fortuitously, Trump started a trade war and we had a pandemic, and all these boomers who as a class have the largest amounts of home equity and the biggest retirement portfolios get turbo-boosted right as they are about to head out the door. Anyone who was ready to retire this year without that boost can really retire now. They have hundreds of thousands in additional home equity and stocks that they weren't expecting. In the short-term at least, most of these folks are set. But, it may not be sustainable, inflation may eat away at their temporary winnings and they may be eventually forced back into the labor market.

Aside from seniors, the chaotic nature of markets right now might also be a problem. It's hard for everyone to make sense of prices, and how to play the situation. I was on a trip a month ago where I used Lyft extensively. I pumped my drivers for as much information as they could provide about their business situation. One lady told me she was an accountant with 15 years experience. There are lots of jobs out there, but they pay crap; as bad as it is, she can make more money with Lyft. Now why are firms slow in raising prices outside of McDonalds workers? One problem is that nobody knows where the economy is heading. Right-winger Jerome Powell seems hell-bent on slowing the economy down, even if he throws us into a recession. I'm sorry, Ajax, did you think Biden is the one raising interest rates with the hope of increasing unemployment numbers?

Anyway, what I'm saying is that if we're going into a recession, then you're just going to have to fire that person you hired at that big price point. And so there may be some friction here to the labor market clearing: which world will we be living in a few months from now? The brave new world of inflation where firms buckle and pay people enough to live in the inflationary world? Or will it be a big recession, prices collapse, and that pathetic 20$ an hour accounting job now makes more sense for the worker?

I'd say republicans ought to slow down on fixing everything with a government solution. We've already got Vladimr's and Jerome's fevered recession projects, let's not make it more complicated. Let's take the valid part of McConnell's intuition and quit touching the buttons, and let the water go down the drain on its own. It may take some time, but it will sort itself out.

[ajax18]

Retirees aren't paying socialist security tax when they're retired. Why tax them if they choose to return to work? It's a malincentive that promotes a culture idleness rather than industriousness.

[honorentheos]

I talked with a fellow OD who is in his 60s now. I told him I was struggling to save money. He advice was excellent. "Stop trying to save for retirement. I work four days/week now and have more money doing that than I could have ever saved. It still feels like a vacation."

So my question is why in the hell is he having to pay a social security payroll tax at all at 65 years old when he has chosen to work to finance his retirement by working? Whoever is charging a 65 year old worker social security tax is the one waging war on senior citizens and that is noat conservatives.

I've said before and will say again, you don't seem to understand the concept of insurance. Which, given your profession, is interesting.

[Moksha]

The perennial Republican platform to end Social Security and Medicare is certainly a war against seniors.

Why isn't Ron Johnson in jail for his scheme to defraud Wisconsin and the United States with fake Electoral College voters?

[Gadianton]

Retirees aren't paying socialist security tax when they're retired. Why tax them if they choose to return to work? It's a malincentive that promotes a culture idleness rather than industriousness.

lol. okay buddy. That you'd let anyone off without taxes is interesting, I mean, why not extend that same logic to really poor people who work but are part of the 40% who don't pay federal taxes? The top 6 highest welfare recipient per capita states are all Trump states. Florida ranks substantially higher than California. Maybe give these really poor people an additional break on state taxes and sales tax as well, to keep those welfare rosters down?

I'd probably say what the hell, below a certain income, let retirees come out of retirement and not pay any federal taxes. I doubt you'd want too many optometrists coming back into the workforce able to undercharge as their costs are lower. But at the end of the day, I'll agree with you to give this one a chance.

I will note that "waging war on seniors" probably wasn't in response to the "cut taxes for seniors", I just thought it weird to see you support such a thing. The waging war part is cutting social security and medicare. Weirdly, seniors tend to be Republican, like my right-wing neighbors, and so maybe they need to vote away their retirements and go to the streets and learn their lessons about living for culture wars instead of living in reality.

I'm like you in one regard, Ajax, I'll be working until the end. Even if I can afford to retire one day, what I do is convenient enough that there's really no reason to ever stop unless I become disabled or something. Even if I quit my job, I'll just work anyway in terms of hobbies that don't make me any money so what's the point.

[canpakes]

Retirees aren't paying socialist security tax when they're retired. Why tax them if they choose to return to work? It's a malincentive that promotes a culture idleness rather than industriousness.

Here you go -

A Minnesota Democrat is pushing Congress to eliminate federal taxes on Social Security.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, recently introduced the “You Earned It, You Keep It Act” to repeal federal taxes on Social Security benefits for retirees across the country.

“Social Security is a promise we have made to the American people – if you work hard and play by the rules, the dignity of a secure retirement will be within your reach,” Craig said. “But taxing the very benefits American workers have earned after decades on the job diminishes our promise and threatens to undermine the financial security of retirees already struggling with rising prices.

“Eliminating this tax will help Social Security benefits go further and ensure that American retirees have all the resources they need after a lifetime of hard work.”

The cut would be paid for by raising the payroll tax cap to $250,000 or more a year. Currently, wages over $147,000 are exempt from Social Security payroll tax. The bill has been introduced in Congress but hasn’t gained any traction – yet – and would face strong opposition from House Republicans.

https://www.al.com/news/2022/09/bill-wo ... reddit.com

[Hawkeye]

Retirees aren't paying socialist security tax when they're retired. Why tax them if they choose to return to work? It's a malincentive that promotes a culture idleness rather than industriousness.

Here you go -

A Minnesota Democrat is pushing Congress to eliminate federal taxes on Social Security.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, recently introduced the “You Earned It, You Keep It Act” to repeal federal taxes on Social Security benefits for retirees across the country.

“Social Security is a promise we have made to the American people – if you work hard and play by the rules, the dignity of a secure retirement will be within your reach,” Craig said. “But taxing the very benefits American workers have earned after decades on the job diminishes our promise and threatens to undermine the financial security of retirees already struggling with rising prices.

“Eliminating this tax will help Social Security benefits go further and ensure that American retirees have all the resources they need after a lifetime of hard work.”

The cut would be paid for by raising the payroll tax cap to $250,000 or more a year. Currently, wages over $147,000 are exempt from Social Security payroll tax. The bill has been introduced in Congress but hasn’t gained any traction – yet – and would face strong opposition from House Republicans.

https://www.al.com/news/2022/09/bill-wo ... reddit.com

Ok I don't understand something. I'm talking about a person over 65 who chooses to continue to work. Currently he still has to pay social security payroll tax on supposed retirement savings that he'll likely never collect in the future. Is there some kind of social security tax that a retiree/young disabled person who does no work for pay above the table pays on the government check he pull each month?

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

If you still need additional help, you may write to the Office of Public Inquiries and Communications Support. Please include your Social Security number or claim number whenever you write to us.

Social Security Administration
Office of Public Inquiries and Communications Support
1100 West High Rise
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235

Let’s see if Xanax is serious about getting an official answer, or “Nah, I don’t think I want to do anything about my own curiosity so I’ll just claim something as if it were factual. Repeatedly.”

- Doc