A recent editorial (“Our View: The retirement age should not be raised,” March 5) points out that raising or eliminating the cap on earnings would “force wealthier Americans to pay too much for a system they won’t get much out of.”

I’m reminded of the portion of our property taxes that goes to funding education. Properties are assessed a value, millage rates are set, and everyone pays a share of education costs – no matter if they have children or not, because it is the duty of a modern society, as a whole, to educate the next generation.

If the legions of wage earners have FICA withheld on every dollar of their income, so too should the wealthy. Social Security contributions applied to all income is how retirement, with common decency, should be paid for by a modern society.

John Hellen
Norway