1099 & A Chevy Truck

 

I had a couple pictures featured on the Metal Mashup on the Arc-Zone welding supply company site. I sent the link to my brother from a different mother and he sent me a couple of photos of my old '50 Chevy half ton I rebuilt. I swapped out the engine, made some cab corners, and a flat bed. The interior was fitted with a pair of bucket seats and a wooden console that I fitted with a push-button radio. I had converted the electrics to 12volt by replacing the generator with an alternator, and then swapping all the bulbs and installing a few resistors. It was a good running rig that I drove while I was working at the welding shop, since the shop was only a few blocks from the house. When I started teaching, I sold it shortly after and got something a little more commuting friendly on my daily 50 mile round trip. According to my brother, these were taken 49 years ago. Lots of projects under both of our belts since then.

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It's 1099 season and they've been coming in the mail, including the ones from Social Security for the Missus and I. One of the line items on the SS statement is the "voluntary" federal tax withheld. This always burns my ass. Never have I voluntarily agreed to pay a tax on the money paid in by me and my employer that was a tax to begin with. To further make my case, The Epoch Times runs a column every week dealing with Social Security issues. The column is written by a former SS employee and is well written and informative. Recently he addressed the issue of SS running out of money. This week there was a letter to the editor in response to the column highlighting the fact that SS is about the worst possible retirement investment you could make.

The reader shows in detail figures on the money you put in and the return on your investment. In a nutshell, you pay in 7% and your employer matches that. Your share is actually closer to 9% after paying your federal taxes. You pay in approximately $15,000 for 40 years and then at age of 65 you receive benefits of $25,000 per year, $20,000 after taxes, for a total benefit of $400,000. However, using the figures in the article, if you had invested that same amount at an interest rate of 5 or 6%, you would have earned yourself somewhere between $2 million to $4 million dollars. Invest $4 million and get back $400,000. Helluva deal, ain't it.

And knowing this, they want you to "voluntarily" give some of the money back.