Merkley wants employers to automatically enroll workers in retirement plans (Green: income, taxes)

[freemkt]

...where 3 percent of their pay would automatically go into their retirement account....workers would be able to opt out.

As a worker not paid a living wage, I would be offended and thus I oppose this legislation.

At least leave low-paid workers alone and not push them into an offensive plan.

[PNW-type-gal]

So you are offended by a program you can easily opt out of?

You know that young workers are going to bear the burden of Social Security reform for an aging population, right? They will pay more in taxes and increasingly receive less in benefits and the govt will keep taking money out of the Social Security program and writing themselves little IOUs which they will then cry about repaying (thank you Ronald Reagan).

Excellent idea. Everyone needs to be putting something away. If it's automatic more people will do it. Not like you can't opt out.

[Terryj]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

So you are offended by a program you can easily opt out of?

You know that young workers are going to bear the burden of Social Security reform for an aging population, right? They will pay more in taxes and increasingly receive less in benefits and the govt will keep taking money out of the Social Security program and writing themselves little IOUs which they will then cry about repaying (thank you Ronald Reagan).

I'm a little confused as to what Ragan was responsible for as to Social Security. In the Ragan years the only change to SS was it's ability to be taxed as income. Ragan signed a bill allowing 50% of SS to be taxed. In 1993 Congress passed the OBRA allowing SS to be taxed at 85% as income.
Social Security has never been moved into the "general fund", however, for budget concerns it was the Johnson administration who decided to move it into the unified budget process in 1969. As a result of this move the SS system has come under constant attack due to budget cuts in the unified budget process.

[PNW-type-gal]

Under Ronald Reagan (with advice from Alan Greenspan), the 1983 Social Security Amendments that were passed hiked the amount of taxes that were deducted from paychecks. The $2.7 trillion dollars was supposed to be saved ("a contingency reserve to absorb temporary fluctuations in income and outgo") and invested in treasury bonds (which, granted, the govt would still have to pay back). Instead it was funneled directly into the General Fund to offset the "trickle down" tax cuts.

[Terryj]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Under Ronald Reagan (with advice from Alan Greenspan), the 1983 Social Security Amendments that were passed hiked the amount of taxes that were deducted from paychecks. The $2.7 trillion dollars was supposed to be saved ("a contingency reserve to absorb temporary fluctuations in income and outgo") and invested in treasury bonds (which, granted, the govt would still have to pay back). Instead it was funneled directly into the General Fund to offset the "trickle down" tax cuts.

Thank you for the explanation.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

More government regulation. There's a cost to do this to the business.