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Originally Posted by Undertoad
The US is best off when there is mobility: opportunity for the poor to become rich, no matter what the definition of those two things is.
One of the biggest factors creating a rich/poor "gap" is the Social Security system. SS is a regressive system that takes from the poor and gives to the rich.
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I agree that a chance for mobility is a good thing. Education is a key factor in that, and the truth remains that schools in the ghetto versus schools in wealthy suburbs give a very different quality of education.
I'm not quite sure of what you mean about the Social Security system either. Everyone pays into it, and at age 65 or if you become disabled, everyone draws from it, even those with private retirement/disability plans that give them a pretty good income. For example, I know of a disabled vet who gets almost $3,000/month from the VA and, in addition, draws an SSDI check for $730.00/month.
I think SS needs to be treated more like a sort of catastrophe insurance. If you have over a certain amount of income from other sources, you shouldn't be able to draw SS. I know most folks probably will disagree with me on this, but it would have the effect of making a big dent in the SS "crisis," as well as allow SS payments for those who truly need it to be raised to a more livable amount. Right now, a disabled person on SSI gets something like $570.00/month. Pretty pathetic. SSDI is somewhat better, I think people can get as much as $1200/month from that, but you have to luck out and meet the complex formula SSDI uses to figure your benefits.