That wouldn't be the point. The point is that raising the cap is needed to fully fund SS through the boomer years. Many who have worked all or much of their lives will have negative discretionary income. For many high earners, 90% or more of their income is discretionary, they simply sock it away into low risk speculative ventures. A 6.2% percent payroll tax on all earnings above a total of a quarter million is not a big deal, so long as no one cheats. As a contractor and self-employed, on top of income taxes I paid 15.3% of my earnings into SS and Medicare. Why give a regressive tax or complete tax break to the wealthy? They didn't make their money in a vacuum, they needed working class people to make their profits, and they should help to support them in impoverished retirement. It's what ethical persons call a moral imperative.