Mitt Romney has written an editorial. It should prompt a national discussion. It won't.

[drudge X]

I"ll listen to him when he grows some skin. Damn coward.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

you keep linking to opinions and unverified studies of academia not real lists of actual people,

These are facts, Sarge.
Go on playing ostrich. It's what you true believers do best.

 

[Nostra]

Mitt Romney: Tax the Rich, Like Me​

In 2012, political ads suggested that some of my policy proposals, if enacted, would amount to pushing grandma off a cliff. Actually, my proposals were intended to prevent that very thing from happening.

Today, all of us, including our grandmas, truly are headed for a cliff: If, as projected, the Social Security Trust Fund runs out in the 2034 fiscal year, benefits will be cut by about 23 percent. The government will need trillions of dollars to make up the shortfall. When lenders refuse to loan the money unless they are paid much higher interest rates, economic calamity will almost certainly ensue. Alternatively, the government could print more money, inducing hyperinflation that devalues the national debt — along with your savings.

Typically, Democrats insist on higher taxes, and Republicans insist on lower spending. But given the magnitude of our national debt as well as the proximity of the cliff, both are necessary. DOGE took a slash-and-burn approach to budget cutting and failed spectacularly. Europe demonstrates that exorbitant taxes without spending restraint crushes economic vitality and thus speeds how fast the cliff arrives.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/opinion/romney-tax-the-rich.html

The title applies to his belief the $176K income cap for social security taxes should be done away with.

I long opposed increasing the income level on which FICA employment taxes are applied (this year, the cap is $176,100). No longer; the consequences of the cliff have changed my mind.

The largest source of additional tax revenues is also probably the most compelling for fairness and social stability. Some call it closing tax code loopholes, but the term “loopholes” grossly understates their scale. “Caverns” or “caves” would be more fitting.

He goes on to say the "step up in basis" capital gains tax treatment for wealthy estates should be amended. Meaning, if you inherit an asset for which the owner would have faced a capital gains tax upon its disposal if the owner did so while still alive, you shouldn't be able to inherit the asset tax free.

The thread is not intended to start a debate on the details of Romney's recommendations. Rather, it is to highlight the impending shortfall in the SS trust requires the nation to have a serious debate over what to do about it. And soon.

So too we need to have a discussion about the debt, during which both higher taxes and lower spending are on the table. There are still more.

Many have said our elected representatives have failed us with the rise of partisanship leading to paralyzing gridlock. The result being critical issues are not being effectively addressed. I say we have failed ourselves by not electing serious and informed officials to represent us. A reflection of "we the people," who spend too much time entertaining ourselves and not enough learning about fact based solutions to problems that will bring this republic down if they are not resolved in an intelligent, thoughtful, forward looking way.

The Ponzi scheme will go broke. Just a matter of when.

And Mitt is free to pay as much taxes as he wants,

 

[buckeye]

You'd be wrong about that. But eliminating the personal income cap could be done so it only impacts employees so as not to overly tax businesses........as long as some business tax loopholes are closed.

No, I am not wrong. But you sure post a lot of stuff that is flat out wrong and refuse to admit it when pointed out. I never knew you were so dumb.

The self employed pay both portions of SS, 6.2% from employee and the same from employer.

 

[buckeye]

Don't you think it's time to drop that silly meme? trump deserves every bit of the scorn, derision, and criticism he gets. Primarily because he is now, and always has been, unfit for the job.

Not at all. You guys come up with the most ridiculous conclusions based on your hatred of one man.

It's an illness, simple as that.

And the FACT that you never noticed Biden's obvious and progressive dementia is just another symptom of your illness.

 

[berg80]

FICA is a payroll tax. What's your point?

Read the post to which I was replying.

 

[berg80]

^^ ahh, the Fascist response: I can’t respond to any of your points, so you just need to be “eliminated”.

I can respond to all your lies. My point was to say people like you offer nothing in the way of solutions and need to be marginalized because you tend to obstruct progress.

 

[berg80]

Not at all. You guys come up with the most ridiculous conclusions based on your hatred of one man.

Reasoned conclusions not based on hatred. Based on the material impact to the country of his destructive actions.

 

[buckeye]

Reasoned conclusions not based on hatred. Based on the material impact to the country of his destructive actions.

You can tell yourself that all you like.

But your constant hair on fire when it comes to Trump and the ridiculous extremes you address him with combined with a complete inability to see 4 years of a very, very sick Biden for what he was until it was shoved into your face tells a completely different story.

 

[buckeye]

Read the post to which I was replying.

You never corrected your poor math. Don't you think reasoned policy deserves an understanding of its actual impact?

 

[berg80]

No, I am not wrong.

The thread is not intended to start a debate on the details of Romney's recommendations. Rather, it is to highlight the impending shortfall in the SS trust requires the nation to have a serious debate over what to do about it.

 

[Nostra]

berg80 worships a guy who keeps BINDERS OF WOMEN!

Disgusting.

 

[berg80]

But your constant hair on fire when it comes to Trump

Reasoned discussion is not possible with folks like yourself who are in denial about what trump has done, and is doing, to inflict lasting harm on the nation.

 

[buckeye]

The thread is not intended to start a debate on the details of Romney's recommendations. Rather, it is to highlight the impending shortfall in the SS trust requires the nation to have a serious debate over what to do about it.

You poor thing. You made an error in discussing the details of Romney's recommendations.

And now you can't admit it. That's another problem with TDS.

You guys can never admit you're wrong, part of the cult of TDS. It's like you think admitting you made a mistake means Trump is not Hitler.

 

[buckeye]

Reasoned discussion is not possible with folks like yourself who are in denial about what trump has done, and is doing, to inflict lasting harm on the nation.

The FACT that you never noticed that Biden has been in serious progressive decline since 2019 leaves me with NO confidence in your ability to assess anything else.

You have TDS, it's a real issue and all the denial in the world won't change that.

 

[theHawk]

I can respond to all your lies. My point was to say people like you offer nothing in the way of solutions and need to be marginalized because you tend to obstruct progress.

I don’t claim to have all the solutions, but I sure as hell know that following the same “solutions” as the last 50 years isn’t going to change anything for the better.

 

[Meathead]

I've been hearing the same shit from conservatives for four decades now. Corruption, fraud, the size of government..yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah......(except when WE are governing)

I thought Mogasota was governed by Democrats.

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

This is the only thing dems have is to tax tax tax. They never have had a solution. Romney should give up some of his billions then so he can pay for worthless wars and social programs. No, it's time that the govt do without. They've been screwing the populace forever.

Yeah, what's stopping him from simply writing a big check payable to the US Treasury?

His 2010 tax form (link) says he paid $3M in income taxes on $22M income (he filed for a refund of $1.6M). Similar in 2011.

$3M is plenty. Way more than I pay.

 

[Meathead]

I thought Mogapolis, Somalisota was governed by Democrats.

 

[SweetTea]

Remove the cap, and we can talk about the benefits. It would solve 70% of SS issues.

We could just raise taxes across the board so that everyone would share the burden. Why should higher earners be forced to pay more SS tax and receive no benefit? The already pay more income and property tax and receive no extra benefits.

If you want to save SS so badly, then buck up and pay, don't just expect someone else to pay it.