It gets worse

Have I mentioned that Social Security is an awful Ponzi scheme? In today's Boston Globe, business writer Scott Burns explains how future retirees will receive less but will be taxed more:

In 1983, a presidential commission recommended that Social Security benefits be taxed. The recommendation became law in 1984. At the time, few retirees were affected because benefits were only to be taxed when other sources of income were quite high. With the initial income level set at $25,000 for a single return and $32,000 for a joint return, it was expected that only 1 percent of beneficiaries would pay anything .

But there was a catch. The income levels weren't indexed to inflation. As inflation and economic growth increased the level of benefits for future retirees, more retirees would pay the tax.

When taxes are geared to capture "only the rich" (think alternative minimum tax), eventually the dragnet hits everybody.