HomeNational Committee To Preserve Social Security And Medicare

National Committee To Preserve Social Security And Medicare

National Committee To Preserve Social Security & Medicare

Jan. 6 hearing: Committee plays security testimony, Pence secret service dispatches
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  • National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is a left-of-center nonprofit organization that engages in lobbying at the federal level against free-market changes to Social Security including private investment accounts, for increased Social Security payroll taxes, and against cuts to current Social Security and Medicare funding.

    NCPSSM raises most of its money through a large direct mail fundraising effort. There have been controversies in the past regarding its direct mail operation and fundraising appeals, with opponents arguing that NCPSSM misleads recipients. NCPSSM holds events with Democratic elected officials throughout the country. Through its political action committee, the group has given almost entirely to Democratic candidates, while opposing Republican efforts to reform Social Security and Medicare.

    Tax On Wages And Self

    Benefits are funded by taxes imposed on wages of employees and self-employed persons. As explained below, in the case of employment, the employer and employee are each responsible for one half of the Social Security tax, with the employee’s half being withheld from the employee’s pay check. In the case of self-employed persons , the self-employed person is responsible for the entire amount of Social Security tax.

    The portion of taxes collected from the employee for Social Security are referred to as “trust fund taxes” and the employer is required to remit them to the government. These taxes take priority over everything, and represent the only debts of a corporation or LLC that can impose personal liability upon its officers or managers. A sole proprietor and officers of a corporation and managers of an LLC can be held personally liable for non-payment of the income tax and social security taxes whether or not actually collected from the employee.

    A separate payroll tax of 1.45% of an employee’s income is paid directly by the employer, and an additional 1.45% deducted from the employee’s paycheck, yielding a total tax rate of 2.90%. There is no maximum limit on this portion of the tax. This portion of the tax is used to fund the program, which is primarily responsible for providing health benefits to retirees.

    The Social Security tax rates from 19372010 can be accessed on the ‘s website.

    Wages not subject to tax

    Court Interpretation Of The Act To Provide Benefits

    The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has indicated that the Social Security Act has a moral purpose and should be liberally interpreted in favor of claimants when deciding what counted as covered wages for purposes of meeting the quarters of coverage requirement to make a worker eligible for benefits. That court has also stated: “… he regulations should be liberally applied in favor of beneficiaries” when deciding a case in favor of a felon who had his disability payments retroactively terminated upon incarceration. According to the court, that the Social Security Act “should be liberally construed in favor of those seeking its benefits can not be doubted.” “The hope behind this statute is to save men and women from the rigors of the poor house as well as from the haunting fear that such a lot awaits them when journey’s end is near.”

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    Claim Of Discrimination Against The Poor And The Middle Class

    Workers must pay 12.4 percent, including a 6.2 percent employer contribution, on their wages below the , but no tax on income in excess of this amount. Therefore, high earners pay a lower percentage of their total income because of the income caps because of this, and the fact there is no tax on unearned income, social security taxes are often viewed as being . However, benefits are adjusted to be significantly more progressive, even when accounting for differences in life expectancy. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, for people in the bottom fifth of the earnings distribution, the ratio of benefits to taxes is almost three times as high as it is for those in the top fifth.

    Cold War And Late 20th Century

    National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

    After World War II, the United States financed and implemented the to help rebuild western Europe disbursements paid between 1948 and 1952 would total $13 billion . Also at this time, tensions between the United States and led to the , driven by an ideological divide between and . They dominated the military affairs of Europe, with the U.S. and its allies on one side and the Soviet Union and its allies on the other. The U.S. often opposed movements that it viewed as Soviet-sponsored, sometimes pursuing direct action for against governments. American troops fought the communist forces in the of 19501953, and the U.S. became increasingly involved in the , introducing combat forces in 1965. Their competition to achieve superior capability led to the , which culminated in the U.S. becoming the first nation to in 1969. While both countries engaged in and developed powerful , they avoided direct military conflict.

    At home, the U.S. had experienced , , and a and following World War II. After a surge in female labor participation around the 1970s, by 1985, the majority of women aged 16 and over were employed, and construction of an transformed the nation’s transportation infrastructure in decades to come. In 1959, the United States admitted and to become the 49th and 50th states, formally expanding beyond the .

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    Claim That It Is A Ponzi Scheme

    Critics have drawn parallels between Social Security and , arguing that the sustenance of Social Security is due to continuous contributions over time. One criticism of the analogy is that while and Social Security have similar structures , they have different transparencies. In the case of a Ponzi scheme, the fact that there is no return-generating mechanism other than contributions from new entrants is obscured whereas Social Security payouts have always been openly underwritten by incoming and the interest on the Treasury bonds held by or for the Social Security system. The sudden loss of confidence resulting in a collapse of a conventional Ponzi scheme when the scheme’s true nature is revealed is unlikely to occur in the case of the Social Security system. Private sector Ponzi schemes are also vulnerable to collapse because they cannot compel new entrants, whereas participation in the Social Security program is a condition for joining the U.S. labor force. In connection with these and other issues, calls Social Security a “quasi” in his book, Fubarnomics.

    Private Retirement Savings Crisis

    While -adjusted stock market values generally rose from 1978 to 1997, from 1998 through 2007 they were higher than in March 2013. This has caused workers’ supplemental retirement plans such as to perform substantially more poorly than expected when current retirees were investing the bulk of their savings in them. In 2010, the median household retirement account balance for workers aged 55 to 64 was $120,000, which will provide only a trivial supplement to Social Security benefits, but about a third of households had no at all. 75% of Americans nearing retirement age had less than $30,000 in their retirement accounts, which Forbes called “the greatest retirement crisis in American history.”

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    Federal Income Taxation Of Benefits

    Originally the benefits received by retirees were not taxed as income. Beginning in 1984, with the -era reforms to repair the system’s projected insolvency, retirees with incomes over $25,000 , or with combined incomes over $32,000 or, in certain cases, any income amount generally saw part of the retiree benefits subject to federal income tax. In 1984, the portion of the benefits potentially subject to tax was 50%. The set the portion to 85%. Moreover, since the taxable income threshold is not indexed to inflation, the portion of beneficiaries’ social security payments subject to income tax has risen significantly in since the threshold was set in 1984.

    What We Aim To Solve

    Senate Budget Committee Debates Best Way To Save Social Security From Collapse

    The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare works on behalf of its members and supporters in Washington DC to protect the benefits that Americans have paid for and earned during a lifetime of work and aggressively fights against legislation that would slash, undermine, or privatize these earned benefit programs. Our staff advocates for legislation that would improve and expand Social Security and Medicare benefits to ensure a healthy and secure retirement for current and future generations of Americans, and to provide adequate funding for the Social Security Administration and for other programs and services relied on by our nations most vulnerable citizens. We also help educate our members and supporters about the impact of legislation on their retirement and health security, and provide information on how they can maximize their earned benefits.

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    Literature And Visual Arts

    In the visual arts, the was a mid-19th-century movement in the tradition of European . The 1913 in New York City, an exhibition of European , shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene., , and others experimented with new, individualistic styles. Major artistic movements such as the of and and the of and developed largely in the United States. The tide of modernism and then has brought fame to American architects such as , , and . Americans have long been important in the modern artistic medium of , with major photographers including , , , and .

    Civil War And Reconstruction Era

    Status of the states, 1861

    Irreconcilable sectional conflict regarding of and ultimately . With the of Republican , conventions in thirteen slave states declared secession and formed the , while the federal government ” rel=”nofollow”> Union”) maintained that secession was illegal. In order to bring about this secession, military action was initiated by the secessionists, and the Union responded in kind. The ensuing war would become the deadliest military conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 620,000 soldiers as well as upwards of 50,000 civilians.

    began in earnest following the war. While President Lincoln attempted to foster friendship and forgiveness between the Union and the former Confederacy, on April 14, 1865 drove a wedge between North and South again. Republicans in the federal government made it their goal to oversee the rebuilding of the South and to ensure the rights of African Americans. They persisted until the when the Republicans agreed to cease protecting the rights of African Americans in the South in order for Democrats to concede the . Southern white Democrats, calling themselves “”, took control of the South after the end of Reconstruction, beginning the . From 1890 to 1910, the Redeemers established so-called , most blacks and some impoverished whites throughout the region. Blacks would face nationwide, especially in the South. They also occasionally experienced vigilante violence, including .

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    Spouse’s Benefit And Government Pension Offsets

    The spouse or divorced spouse of a retirement beneficiary is eligible for a Social Security spouse benefit if the spouse or divorced spouse is 62 or older. The benefit amount is equal to 50 percent of the retirement beneficiary’s if the spouse claims the benefit at the full retirement age or later. If a person is eligible for both a retirement benefit based the person’s own work in Social Security covered employment and a spouse benefit based on a spouse’s work in covered employment, SSA will pay a total amount approximately equal to the higher of the two benefits. For example, if at the full retirement age, a spouse claims a retirement benefit of $300 and a spouse benefit of $450, SSA will pay the person a $300 retirement benefit and a $150 dollar partial spouse benefit for a total benefit of $450.

    A spouse is eligible after a one-year duration of marriage requirement is met and a spouse is eligible for spousal benefits if the marriage lasted for at least ten years and the person applying is not currently married. Payment of benefits to a divorced spouse does not reduce the Social Security benefits of the retired worker or family members of the retired worker, such as the worker’s current spouse. A divorced person can claim spousal benefits once the former spouse is eligible for retirement benefits, regardless of whether the former spouse has claimed those retirement benefits.

    Law Enforcement And Crime

    NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY &  MEDICARE TRUSTED ...

    There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to federal level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly by local police departments and ‘s offices. The provides broader services, and such as the and the have specialized duties, such as protecting , and enforcing ‘ rulings and federal laws. conduct most civil and criminal trials, and federal courts handle designated crimes and appeals from the state criminal courts.

    As of 2020, the United States has a of 7 per 100,000 people. A cross-sectional analysis of the Mortality Database from 2010 showed that United States homicide rates “were 7.0 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25.2 times higher.”

    The United States has the and in the world. In 2019, the total prison population for those sentenced to more than a year is 1,430,800, corresponding to a ratio of 419 per 100,000 residents and the lowest since 1995. Some estimates place that number higher, such ‘s 2.3 million. Various states have attempted to via government policies and grassroots initiatives.

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    Citing Resources In The Web Archive

    Citations should indicate: Archived in the Library of Congress Web Archives at www.loc.gov. When citing a particular website include the archived website’s Citation ID . Researchers are advised to follow standard citation guidelines for websites, pages, and articles. Researchers are reminded that many of the materials in this web archive are copyrighted and that citations must credit the authors/creators and publishers of the works. For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

    Science Technology And Energy

    The United States has been a leader in technological since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. Methods for producing and the establishment of a industry enabled the of sewing machines, bicycles, and other items in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, factory , introduction of the and other labor-saving techniques created the system of . In the 21st century, approximately two-thirds of research and development funding comes from the private sector. In 2020, the United States was the country with the number of published scientific papers and second most patents granted, both after China. In 2021, the United States launched a total of 51 . The U.S. had 2,944 active in space in December 2021, the highest number of any country.

    In 1876, was awarded the first U.S. . ‘s developed the , the first , and the first viable . The in 1903 made the , and the automobile companies of and popularized the assembly line in the early 20th century. The rise of and in the 1920s and 30s led many European scientists, such as , , and , to immigrate to the United States. During World War II, the Manhattan Project developed nuclear weapons, ushering in the . During the Cold War, competition for superior missile capability ushered in the between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The invention of the in the 1950s, a key component in almost all modern , led to the development of , , and the .

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    How Workers Can Get Estimates Of Benefits

    The Social Security Administration provides benefit estimates to workers through the Social Security Statement. The Statement can be accessed online by opening an online account with SSA called my Social Security. With that account, workers can also construct “what if” scenarios, helping them to understand the effect on monthly benefits if they work additional years or delay the start of retirement benefits. The my Social Security account also offers other services, allowing individuals to request a replacement Social Security card or check the status of an application.

    A printed copy of the Social Security Statement is mailed to workers age 60 or older.

    In 2021, SSA began producing Retirement Ready fact sheets, available online and as part of the online Statement, that tailor retirement planning information to different age groups .

    SSA also has a Benefits Calculators web page with several stand-alone online calculators that help individuals estimate their benefits and prepare for retirement. These include benefit calculators for spouses, calculators for persons affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision or the Government Pension Offset and calculators to determine a person’s full retirement age or the effect of the earnings test on benefits.

    SSA also provides a life expectancy calculator to help with retirement planning.

    Social Security Number Theft

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    Because Social Security Numbers have become useful in and other forms of , various schemes have been perpetrated to acquire valid Social Security Numbers and related identity information.

    In February 2006, the Social Security Administration received several reports of an email message being circulated addressed to “Dear Social Security Number And Card owner” and purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. The message informs the reader “that someone illegally is using your Social Security number and assuming your identity” and directs the reader to a website designed to look like Social Security’s Internet website.

    “I am outraged that someone would target an unsuspecting public in this manner,” said Commissioner . “I have asked the Inspector General to use all the resources at his command to find and prosecute whoever is perpetrating this fraud.”

    Once directed to the phony website, the individual is reportedly asked to confirm his or her identity with “Social Security and bank information”. Specific information about the individual’s credit card number, expiration date and is then requested. “Whether on our online website or by phone, Social Security will never ask you for your credit card information or your PIN,” Commissioner reported.

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