Wage Inequality Poses a Larger Economic Burden Than Prospective Social Security Tax Hikes
Posted on July 13, 2008 in Generic medical release (Category: Default)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 14, 20051:37 PM
CONTACT: Center for Economic and Policy Research
Debi Kar, 202-387-5080
Wage Inequality Poses a Larger Economic Burden Than Prospective Social Security Tax Hikes
WASHINGTON -- March 14 -- Numerous politicians and commentators have claimed that the prospect of higher Social Security taxes in the future will threaten the living standards of our children and grandchildren. A new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) economist Dean Baker, entitled "The Burden of Social Security Taxes and the Burden of Wage Inequality" shows that wage inequality poses a much larger economic burden on most workers than any tax hikes that may be needed to keep Social Security solvent. The tax increases that the Social Security trustees and the Congressional Budget Office project would be needed to maintain Social Security's solvency would have far less impact on the living standard of a typical worker than the rise in wage inequality the nation has experienced over the last quarter century.
A typical worker lost an amount equal to 9 percent of their wages due to the increase of wage inequality over the last decade. By contrast, the Social Security trustees and the Congressional Budget Office project the size of the tax increase needed to keep Social Security fully solvent over its 75-year planning period as 1.9 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.
The amount of money that typical wage earners have lost in the last year alone, due to the upward redistribution of income, is comparable in size to the tax increases that would be needed to maintain Social Security
Original article: Wage Inequality Poses a Larger Economic Burden Than Prospective Social Security Tax Hikes MARCH 14, 20051:37 PM
CONTACT: Center for Economic and Policy Research
Debi Kar, 202-387-5080
Wage Inequality Poses a Larger Economic Burden Than Prospective Social Security Tax Hikes
WASHINGTON -- March 14 -- Numerous politicians and commentators have claimed that the prospect of higher Social Security taxes in the future will threaten the living standards of our children and grandchildren. A new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) economist Dean Baker, entitled "The Burden of Social Security Taxes and the Burden of Wage Inequality" shows that wage inequality poses a much larger economic burden on most workers than any tax hikes that may be needed to keep Social Security solvent. The tax increases that the Social Security trustees and the Congressional Budget Office project would be needed to maintain Social Security's solvency would have far less impact on the living standard of a typical worker than the rise in wage inequality the nation has experienced over the last quarter century.
A typical worker lost an amount equal to 9 percent of their wages due to the increase of wage inequality over the last decade. By contrast, the Social Security trustees and the Congressional Budget Office project the size of the tax increase needed to keep Social Security fully solvent over its 75-year planning period as 1.9 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.
The amount of money that typical wage earners have lost in the last year alone, due to the upward redistribution of income, is comparable in size to the tax increases that would be needed to maintain Social Security
Tags: social, security, wage, inequality, tax