I'll say they're likely contributors. This is a giant fee-generating
scheme for Wall Street.
I have come to the same conclusion. The truth is, social security is one of
several important segments of our society's taxes-in-and-taxes-out ongoing
political debate. The whole thing is about how many taxes are collected and
from whom and to whom those collected taxes are given.
It is fair to debate social principles. But politics is not about fair; it
is about power. Right now one party has nearly all the power. And that
party is led by a guy who is carefully focused on taking care of his "base."
Here is something from the January 2005 AARP Bulletin:
"If the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are made permanent, the cost over the next
75 years will be more than five times the Social Security shortfall in the
same period, using Congressional Budget Office projections."
--CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES