On Romney's taxes...

I was surprised that so much news print today was still dedicated to Romney's tax returns... so I read some of the articles.  I must admit, if nothing else, it has stirred some interesting ideas among the various pundits out there.

Romney gave $20.9 million as his adjusted gross income, with none of it coming from "the sweat of his own brow"... meaning none of it was earned income, it was all interest and return on investment capital.  His tax bill for the whole $20.9 million was $3.226 million, or just 15.4%.  I think I made a rather eloquent defense of Romney's tax rate in a previous post, so I won't do so again here.  But I was surprised and intrigued by some of the comments made in today's articles.

Romney does not contribute to the Social Security fund... at all.  Nor does he have Medicare deductions taken out of his checks.  These are deducted only from earned income, not from investment income.  Some of your SSI benefits are based on your level of contributions, but not all... and none of your Medicare benefit is based on that.  Now, I'm not suggesting that Romney will EVER collect Social Security or Medicare... but he COULD, should he choose to.

Most of the top 10% of earners in this nation do not pay a SSI or Medicare tax, mainly because most do not earn standard earned income (like Romney).  Should they?  I, for one, would be curious to see what percentage of the total annual contributions to the general fund would be matched should the top 10% of this country actual contribute to SSI and Medicare.  I am not able to "opt out" of SSI or Medicare, and that makes me wonder why someone like Romney is able to.  Between SSI and Medicare, I lose nearly 2% of my gross income every year, and there is NO guarantee that I am EVER going to see a penny of that returned while I am alive.  Why doesn't Romney?

If I were President, and had the means to make the changes we are describing here, I'd lower the gains tax, lower the income tax... but there is a real chance I'd make EVERYONE contribute to the "national safety net" that is SSI and Medicare, as long as they exist.  Can anyone tell me I'm wrong?