Re: “Short-timers take aim at Social Security problem.” Chicago Tribune, Aug. 27, 2026
Senators Durbin and Cassidy are frantically trying to formulate a bipartisan bill to repair the deficit in Social Security, which is projected to result in a 22% cut in benefits within six years. This crisis could be resolved in one fell swoop if the wealthiest American(s) did their patriotic duty and contributed toward Social Security the same as the rest of us.
One reasonable approach is to raise the limit on income that is subject to Social Security payroll tax. After all, wealthy individuals should contribute to society like the rest of us do. The current deficit (the difference between payroll tax collected and payments to recipients) was $200 billion in 2025 [i].
Although that sounds like a lot to most people, there is one person, Elon Musk, whose salary is expected to be $1 trillion per year. If Elon Musk paid the same 6.2% of his salary to Social Security with the employer (Tesla) match, this alone would generate $124 billion per year.
As partial reparation for the damage he did to the American government and the thousands of employees he fired during his DOGE chain-saw massacre, Elon Musk could very nearly wipe out the Social Security deficit single-handedly. He would likely not even notice the fiscal loss, and he might enjoy not being the most despised billionaire in the world.
[i] https://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/
Tom DeCoursey
Portland, Oregon
Formerly of Oak Park