OPINION:
Currently, people over the age of 62 who are on Social Security are only given a $24,800 annual allowance to earn income through working. This equates to roughly $500 per week. For every $2 dollars earned after this arbitrary ceiling, $1 gets taxed toward their Social Security, discouraging their incentive to work.
Who in their right mind wants to work knowing they’re only getting one out of every two dollars they earn?
During these days of high inflation, every dollars counts. This is putting an unnecessary strain on married couples who are battling the high cost of living.
But there is a simple solution that should garner bipartisan support: Simply double the Social Security allowance to $49,600 for married couples who file their taxes jointly and both receive Social Security benefits.
Generally speaking, married couples share most everything. So shouldn’t they be able to have the option to share their individual Social Security allowance?
That extra ’marriage-penalty-free’ income would make a world of difference — and, I daresay, would not affect Social Security solvency in the least.
Perhaps President Trump’s tariffs revenue could be used as a supplement to this new amendment. Now, that’s what I would call making America great again!
LUANA DUNN
Glen Burnie, Maryland
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