The one thing Obama and McCain have in common on social security is an unwillingness to talk seriously about what needs to be done to preserve social security and to continue providing economic fairness across generations. Americans have grown too used to bread and circuses politics that expect them to make no sacrifices and even though social security is growing increasingly unfeasible as it is, Obama and McCain are still promising pie in the sky while ignoring the pain being passed to younger workers.

As it stands we’re set to have two tiers of workers, those on the books staggering under loans and heavy taxes, until the loans themselves implode in the same kind of bubble that has wrecked the housing market, and illegal aliens who will get paid and take from the system without contributing to it and whose employers won’t have to contribute on their behalf. And as Europe demonstrates for us, that category of worker will become increasingly common.

Newsburglar has a great post challenging Obama on social security

Obama’s plan to address the coming Social Security funding gap does not call for reducing benefits or changing the retirement age. Rather, he proposes to eliminate the cap on taxable social security wages for people earning more than $250,000. Obama would also eliminate income taxes for any retiree making less than $50,000 per year.

Which of course is the usual soak the rich pandering, which won’t address the larger issues, but just pour on the rhetoric while passing the burden.

Soak the Rich? No, Soak the Young.

Obama has pledged to eliminate income taxes on retirees making less than $50,000 per year. Obama asserts that this will save an average of $1,400 for 7 million seniors.

Let’s compare a hypothetical senior citizen “earning” $50,000 and a thirty year-old earning $50,000. Under Obama’s plan, the senior would pay no federal tax and would take home $50,000 before state taxes. The thirty year-old on the other hand has $3,825 in FICA and Medicare taxes taken out. Next he has $4,386.25 plus 25% of the amount over 31,850 ($3,581) taken out, for a total of $7,967.

Thus, at the end of the year, under Obama’s plan, a senior citizen “earning” $50,000 still has his $50,000 to spend on hard candy and plaid shorts. The thirty year-old struggling with his first mortgage, student loans and car payments? $38,207. Its a good thing that Obama’s health care plan doesn’t make insurance mandatory because our hypothetical thirty year-old has nothing left over to pay for it.

In fact, Obama does recognize the economic situation facing many young people today. Thus, he offers a new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 a year towards education. In order to receive the AOTC however, the student must perform 100 hours of public service a year. So, the senior earning $50,000 keeps his $7,967 by doing nothing more than drinking lemonade on the front porch with the Misses, but the student putting himself through college is required to spend a hundred hours a year cleaning up the pollution spewing from the senior’s Cadillac?

It’s ironic that the youth base which has fueled Obama will feel the pain from his plan. But then young voters are the least likely to think seriously about their future while being reassured by a few platitudes versus the aging Baby Boomers who know exactly what they need and are determined to fight for it through organizations such as the AARP.