In response to the W2 or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Kiss an Entire Paycheck Goodbye

Alright, I have only had a full time job for half a year (I know, I lived a life of spoils and sloth) and I just received my first meaningful W2 tax form. I cannot believe how this has crystallized the issue for me. The worst part of it is, this really is only half of our costs. The FICA reported tax on the W2 does not show the employer match, which employers rightly factor into the compensation given to any employee. Kerry Kerstetter points this out at the fantastic http://www.socialsecuritychoice.com/ (seriously, check it out, NOW).

My point is that the 6.2% FICA tax that is matched by the employer don't
just come from nowhere. It is money that effectively belongs to and is part of
the cost of employing the workers. The actual total being taken from workers is
12.4% of earned income...The White
House description of the situation does mention the growth in the SS tax
from 2% to more than 12%. This makes the two percent figure that is most often
mentioned as being allowed to be set aside into personally owned accounts a much
smaller percentage of the total than if it were to be compared with just the
6.2% figure.

Considering I used the Heritage SS return calculator to figure what this money was doing for me, consider me incensed that it is losing me .75% every year. Wonderful. By the time I retire this money will be practically worthless under the current system.

Andy Roth basically says the same thing (about the W2 wake-up call) over at http://www.socialsecuritychoice.com/. He lays out the two choices before us:

1) Do you want that money going to the government with no guarantee of ever
getting it back? Are you willing to forego ownership rights on it? Either by
premature death, higher taxes, or lower future benefits, are you okay with the
fact that you might never ever receive that money (or a large portion of it)
back?
2) Do you want that money (or a large portion of it) going into a
personal savings account? One that is YOUR money. You own it. You control the
assets in this account and you control who will receive it upon your
death.

Honestly people, let's wake up and support the president on this one. It is time we take a page from the nutters over at democraticunderground and put some serious pressure on our representatives (especially those up in 06) to get this thing done. In reality, the GOP is probably going to require some intelligent (and safe) democrats since this will be tough for any Senator or Congressman from Florida and maybe even Arizona to back strongly, since the elderly go into cardiac arrest anytime touching social security is suggested.