Social Security crisis, guilty plea in fatal crash, Knicks win
A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) Credit: TNS/Saul Loeb
Fixing the Social Security shortfall
Social Security is not an entitlement [“Social Security faces funding shortfall sooner than expected,” News, June 10].
The hardworking people of America fund Social Security from their wages. The real question here is how a shortfall can be fixed.
The simple solution is to lift the cap on the amount of income taxed for Social Security and Medicare.
The average American pays the deduction on their whole salary because they do not make more than $184,500 in a year.
If Congress lifts the cap, then the upper class would also pay their fair share on the millions they make each year.
We read daily where CEOs earn in excess of $5 million or $10 million annually plus bonuses. I do not think they would be harmed if they had to pay the 6.2% FICA payment to the Social Security Fund on the full amount.
Think how absurd it is that the simple working man pays 100% of FICA on a salary of $60,000-$70,000 while the wealthy earning millions stops paying FICA at $184,500.
They already take advantage of the tax laws to save millions using loopholes and shelters. The least the wealthy can do is fully fund Social Security.
— Paul Spina Jr., Calverton
Social Security is now projected to face a funding shortfall in 2032, a year earlier than last year’s projection, resulting in a reduction in benefits.
The Medicare shortfall was pushed to 2033 from 2036 resulting in higher premiums, copays and a reduction in benefits.
A combination of the declining birth rate creating a smaller workforce and tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy have exacerbated the federal debt.
For Amazon, which has surpassed $700 billion in annual revenue, a tax of 5% could generate $35 billion in tax revenue each year.
That is just one example of one company paying at a percentage of income significantly less than the average household.
— Michael J. Vicchiarelli, Eastport
Raise the age for Social Security
The last fix to cover the shortfall in Social Security benefits was to raise the full retirement age to 67 [“Can Congress manage to fix Social Security?,” Opinion, June 14].
Once again, there has been more talk of further raising that age. The starting age needs to be raised from 62 to a minimum of 63, possibly 63 years and 6 months. Currently, roughly 25% of retirees start at age 62.
While yes, there is a lower benefit payment for collecting Social Security early, even with a limit on the benefit amount that can be paid, the incentive to collect causes a huge early drain on the system. By pushing back the start date, there will be immediate savings accrued from the delay.
For those already receiving some other pension benefits, Social Security only acts as unneeded supplemental income.
— Michael C. Lefkowitz, East Meadow
Why is it so complicated? When instituted, Social Security was only taxed on the first $3,000 of income. Now the cap comes at $184,500. Why have a limit?
Dump the limit, lower the FICA rate, and make anyone making obscene amounts pay on all their income for the year.
Members of Congress are just cowards, looking to get elected. Maybe, we can have a retirement plan like they have.
— Bob Andreocci, Huntington
Why wasn’t drinking buddy charged?
Regarding Matthew Smith’s guilty plea in killing Nassau Police Officer Patricia Espinosa while on an all-day, all-night drinking binge “Guilty plea in crash that killed Nassau police officer,” News, June 12], why wasn’t his drinking buddy passenger also charged?
He too enjoyed the wild speeding through the night while recording it for social media.
What attempts did he make to prevent this tragedy from happening?
Instead, he fueled the fire and should also be held responsible.
— Don Rector, Islip
Knicks win unites New Yorkers
We have just witnessed a sporting event that has brought New Yorkers together in love and joy that we rarely get to experience [“Knicks fans exhale and celebrate a championship,” News, June 15].
In some past championships there have been competing New York teams leading to tensions among fans.
In this NBA championship there was none of that. No “I hate the Yankees” or “I hate the Mets.” All New Yorkers were able to get behind and support the Knicks. The absence of hate made this a remarkable event for all New Yorkers.
— Richard T. DeVito, Long Beach
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN OUR DAILY CONVERSATION. Just go to newsday.com/submitaletter and follow the prompts. Or email your opinion to letters@newsday.com. Submissions should be no more than 200 words. Please provide your full name, hometown, phone number and any relevant expertise or affiliation. Include the headline and date of the article you are responding to. Letters become the property of Newsday and are edited for all media. Due to volume, readers are limited to one letter in print every 45 days. Published letters reflect the ratio received on each topic.
