Polk realized that collective responsibility for Social Security ensured a dignified retirement for all, and he took pride in holding up his end of a sacred compact with millions of fellow Americans.<\/p>\n
Now 82, Polk continues to enjoy his golden years because of Social Security and his union-negotiated pension. But he knows that future generations of workers will be forced to scrape by in retirement or toil until they die\u2014unless the wealthy finally begin paying their fair share to Social Security, a lifeline at\u00a0ever greater risk<\/a>\u00a0of insolvency.<\/p>\n \u201cRemove the cap, and you don\u2019t have to worry about it,\u201d observed Polk, a longtime activist with the United Steelworkers (USW) from Mansfield, Massachusetts, noting that more equitable contributions from the uber-rich\u00a0would end the funding crisis<\/a>\u00a0in short order.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an easy fix,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to hurt anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal government imposes Social Security taxes only on the first $184,500 in wages, no matter how much money a person makes in 2026. Because of this\u00a0arbitrary and nonsensical cap<\/a>, hundreds of the nation\u2019s richest people paid their Social Security taxes within the first few minutes or hours of 2026.<\/p>\n Now, despite the pressing need to shore up the Social Security trust funds, they\u2019re sitting out the rest of the year.<\/p>\n Nothing illustrates this rigged system better than the case of Elon Musk, the\u00a0richest person in the world<\/a>, who rakes in so much money at so great a speed that he effectively paid all of his required Social Security taxes on his wage earnings by 12:15 a.m. on January 1, 2026.<\/p>\n On the other hand, more than 160 million ordinary working people\u2014Americans who perform essential jobs but never come close to pocketing $184,500 a year\u2014will keep contributing to Social Security through December 31.<\/p>\n Working people like Polk, who spent much of his life negotiating contracts for union colleagues and holding employers accountable, understand the power of shared prosperity and a strong middle class.<\/p>\n But the rich have a selfish view. They\u2019re bent on\u00a0hoarding their wealth<\/a>, widening the\u00a0economic inequality<\/a>\u00a0that\u2019s already tearing at the nation\u2019s social fabric, and turning America into a land of haves and have-nots.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hell with everybody else,\u201d Polk said, summing up the mindset of Musk and others of his ilk, who would rather squander their money on\u00a0failed rocket launches<\/a>\u00a0and other vanity projects than support the common good. \u201cIt\u2019s just greed.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s companies\u00a0helped themselves to billions in federal funds<\/a>\u00a0over the years, meaning he owes much of his wealth to the ordinary Americans he looks down on.<\/p>\n Musk had the audacity to call Social Security a \u201cPonzi scheme<\/a>\u201d and\u00a0reposted a meme<\/a>\u00a0characterizing Americans who rely on federal programs as the \u201cparasite class.\u201d When Donald Trump invited Musk to begin decimating the federal government, he\u00a0quickly set his sights on the Social Security administration<\/a>\u00a0and moved to cut jobs, disrupt operations and hamstring the agency.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Democrats in Congress<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Senator Bernie Sanders<\/a>, an independent from Vermont, tirelessly push legislation that would force the wealthy to do their civic duty and contribute an equitable amount for the common good.<\/p>\n Sadly, Republicans refuse to support these long-overdue changes, even though Social Security enjoys overwhelming, bipartisan support among Americans of all ages and from all parts of the country.<\/p>\n The Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., released poll results in August 2025 showing that\u00a0Americans want lawmakers from both parties to work together<\/a>\u00a0to sustain and strengthen the program.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the kind of comment Polk often hears while knocking on doors to promote pro-worker candidates. They tell him they plan to rely on Social Security, but at the same time fear its demise.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the people in the red states that are going to suffer the most,\u201d observed Polk, noting that Social Security\u2019s failure would have a devastating impact on Republican-dominated Southern states with\u00a0high poverty<\/a>\u00a0rates.<\/p>\n And the clock is ticking. Right now, Social Security faces a so-called \u201cgo-broke date<\/a>\u201d in 2034.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when the program will slash benefits to tens of millions of recipients, many of whom\u00a0barely get by<\/a>\u00a0right now. Americans receiving Social Security got only a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2026, far from enough to cover the\u00a0spiraling cost of groceries, health care and other essentials<\/a>\u00a0in Trump\u2019s inflationary economy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was established with the thought that we would retire in dignity. We\u2019ve been able to do that, but it\u2019s getting harder and harder now,\u201d said Jeff Rains, a longtime USW member who\u2019s now the president of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) chapter in Granite City, Ill.<\/p>\n Instead of working to shore up Social Security to meet retirees\u2019 growing needs, Republicans prefer to talk about raising the retirement age yet again or even \u201cprivatizing<\/a>\u201d the program and putting taxpayer contributions in the hands of Wall Street profiteers.<\/p>\n But all of that represents a betrayal of working people, who willingly do their part for Social Security and demand all that was pledged to them in return.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not an entitlement program,\u201d emphasized Rains, whose SOAR chapter has\u00a0circulated petitions<\/a>,\u00a0advocated with lawmakers<\/a>\u00a0and otherwise fought for Social Security for more than a decade. \u201cWe pay into it with every paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n On Social Security\u2019s 80th anniversary in 2015, Rains and other SOAR members celebrated with a symbolic birthday cake. They also visited the office of U.S. Representative Mike Bost, a Republican from Illinois, with a demand that he and other lawmakers reinvigorate the program.<\/p>\n They\u2019re still waiting, along with the rest of America.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very wealthy people are not paying their share,\u201d Rains said of the obvious path forward. \u201cScrap the cap.\u201d<\/p>\n