A comprehensive Social Security Solution

My solution is taken from my own ideas as well as others.
The solution is thus:

1. We should institute a 0.45% tax on all stock trades (half charged on buy, half charged on sell) of U.S. citizens in any market- starting when the U.S. market revives (I’d say when the Dow reaches 11,000 or the S&P reaches 1,200).
This would amount to about 77 billion each year (if the stock market didn’t grow at all) and will certainly keep social security solvent for many more years.
I suspect it would also decrease volatility in the market.

2. We should also consider the possibility of turning control of the social security funds over to a private company that has a contract with the government. (Of course we would include things like having caps on executive pay etc).
They could invest a certain percentage of the money in low risk operations, and keep the rest in bank CD’s.
(We could also keep their dealings secretive, and allow them to legally do insider trading

3. We must tie social security benefits to the inflation rate, and not the wage growth rate: which currently significantly outpaces the inflation rate.

Here is a good site to read:
http://www.nextinning.com/socialsecurity2.php
The following ideas are derived from it.
4. ‘We must keep congress’ hands off of the social security trust fund’ should mean that regardless of a government surplus we do not allow any money to be taken from the fund to pay off other government debt, or any other thing.

5. If my other plans are put in action then I would say we should perhaps forgive a significant portion of the government’s debt in bonds/IOU’s to the social security trust fund.

6. I do like this authors ideas for a transition to a privatized system under the subheadings “A gradual move toward privatization” and “But Wall Street is a rigged lottery.”
I desire to implement this with my other plans (possibly excepting the plan to turn control of the social security funds to a private company with a government contract). However, I desire to make the transition somewhat slower than what this author may have in mind, and I would perhaps only allow college educated people nearing retirement to invest. (Or perhaps we could create a mandatory test on investment, saving, and budgeting that people must pass).

I also believe these ideas (slightly modified) from wademan on solutionslab could be incorporated in with my own:
7) Social Security income begins at: 1) 59 1/2 yrs old (65% of entitlement); 62 yrs old (75%); 65 yrs old (85%); 70 yrs old (95%): 75 yrs old (100%).

All US workers, regardless of citizenship status are mandated to pay into Social Security system by payroll deductions, but will not qualify for Social Security unless they are a legal US citizen. (I would change this by having non-citizen workers pay a reduced rate of contribution- perhaps 50% of the normal benefits. I would also say non-citizens may only collect 65% of what they contributed, and former non-citizens may only collect at most 125% of what they contributed to the system unless they have been citizens for 30 years?)

9) Set up a donor program to be marketed to the American people to donate money and resources to go directly into the Social Security Fund–like a charity. ( not likely to do much, but I don’t think it could hurt.)

10) US government opens “stores” in several select cities that sells surplus government/military items, donated items, or items that would have normally been part of govt. waste, for a profit. Part of the income from the “stores” go into Social Security (25%). This would also help to create jobs as well.

11) Raise tax on all imports into the US by 1%, with 25% of the increase going directly into Social Security Fund, other 75% into National Defense, Homeland Security and other departments.

Thank you for reading.  I would appreciate being notified of any other solutions which may be incorporated into the others.
-Matt Ricks (aka MRLocke)