OASDI and Medicare are technically not TAXES; they are deductions for defined benefit plans!
If they were, you would be able to claim them as taxes paid. The ones not paying Federal Income Taxes are a combination of seniors not having alternate sources of income and receiving OASDI, people on SSDI, SSI, EITC, AFDC, Section 8, WICs, SCHIP, SNAP and on and on and on.
It is the reason why Obama got elected, possibly why he might be re-elected.
payroll taxes have not been set aside from the general budget since the time of LBJ, so we cannot pretend that everyone earning any income at all in America is not paying into the bank account that pays our bills.
Nor is it a remotely decent savings plan unless somehow we think that getting back one fourth of the future growth value of what we put in is a good deal. It’s not a deal at all. It’s a swindel of the variety that put Bernie Madorff in prison. I invest and get 25 instead of the 100 it should be. What insane person would do that?
The government forces me to do it no matter who I am.
If you take 14% of some $10 and hour worker’s paycheck, then you take 2800 from him on a 2000 hour work year (40 hours a week for 50 weeks).
Without kids, he doesn’t get that back in the form of earned income credit or any other credit I know of.