《华尔街日报》（WSJ）的编辑部在周四批评了共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔（来自堪萨斯州），因为他支持取消对缴纳社会保障税的收入上限。
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) editorial board on Thursday took GOP Sen. Roger Marshall (Kan.) to task for backing an elimination of the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes.
编辑部指出，马歇尔主张取消这一收入上限，这“相当于近几十年来和平时期最大规模的减税措施之一”。
Marshall, the WSJ editorial board wrote, is in “favor of what would be one of the largest peacetime tax increases in recent decades” by advocating for the federal government to scrap the cap.
根据社会保障管理局的网站信息，纳税人每年需要缴纳社会保障税的收入上限为184,500美元。该机构每年都会上调这一上限，以“跟上平均工资的增长速度”。
The maximum amount of yearly earnings on which taxpayers must hand over a portion of their paycheck to fund Social Security is $184,500. The Social Security Administration raises the cap on an annual basis to “keep pace with increases in average wages,” according to its website.
在周三与民主党对手亚当·汉密尔顿的辩论中，马歇尔表示自己“完全支持取消这一收入上限”。这位堪萨斯州的共和党议员回避了关于提高退休年龄的问题，称立法者应该先“尝试其他可行的办法”。
During a debate Wednesday against Adam Hamilton, his Democratic opponent, Marshall said he supports eliminating the cap “altogether.”The Kansas Republican deflected on raising the retirement age, saying lawmakers could “exhaust” other options first.
马歇尔表示：“这需要共和党和民主党共同努力。没有简单的解决方案，因为退休的人数正在不断增加，而进入劳动力市场的人数却在减少。”汉密尔顿是一位卫理公会牧师，他表示自己支持提高收入上限，而不是“彻底取消这一限制”。这位民主党候选人表示会“考虑”提高退休年龄的可能性，但并未明确表示会支持这一举措。
“It will take Republicans and Democrats working together,” Marshall said. “There’s no easy answer, because we have more people retiring than entering the workforce.”Hamilton, a Methodist pastor, said he supported raising the cap instead of “taking it away entirely.”The Democratic nominee said he would “look at” raising the retirement age but did not commit to supporting such a move.
《华尔街日报》的编辑部严厉批评这一取消收入上限的提议，称马歇尔实际上支持的是比他的民主党对手更为严厉的减税措施（即更高的税收负担）。
The WSJ editorial board blasted the proposed elimination of the cap as a “bad idea,” saying Marshall effectively supports a larger tax increase than his Democratic opponent.
“提高或取消那一上限已成为民主党人常用的社会保障方案，因为这看似是向富人征税、向老年贫困群体发放福利的办法，”社论委员会写道。“更别说在最乐观的假设下，取消上限也远不足以填补该福利的资金缺口。”
“Raising or eliminating that cap has become Democrats’ go-to Social Security plan because it looks like a way to tax the rich to give to the elderly poor,” the editorial board wrote. “Never mind that under the most optimistic assumptions, eliminating the cap wouldn’t come close to filling the entitlement’s funding gap.”
委员会补充说：“如果你投票给共和党，只会得到伪装成右派民粹主义的左翼‘税收与支出’经济政策，何必投票给他们？”
The board added, “Why vote for Republicans if all you’ll get is left-wing, tax-and-spend economic policies masquerading as right-wing populism?”
特朗普政府官员今年早些时候警告称，社会保障的老年与遗属保险信托基金将在2030年代初只能覆盖78%的福利。
Trump administration officials warned earlier this year that Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will only be able to cover 78 percent of benefits starting in the early 2030s.
这促使立法者提出多项方案以应对即将到来的资金短缺，包括提高或取消工资上限，以及联邦政府投资股市以增加该项目的收入。
That has spurred lawmakers to propose multiple ideas for how to address the impending funding shortfall, including an increase or elimination of the payroll cap and the federal government investing in the stock market to increase revenue for the program.
《华尔街日报》社论委员会指出，改革工资税“可能是未来社会保障改革的一部分”。
The WSJ editorial board noted that reforming payroll taxes “may be part of a Social Security fix” down the road.
“但调整退休年龄、改变生活费用调整以及对福利进行收入测试也都必须摆上议程，”委员会辩称。
“But adjustments to the retirement age, changes to cost-of-living adjustments, and means-testing benefits all need to be on the table, too,” the board argued.