Not only do majorities of Americans want to see Social Security strengthened by making the wealthy pay their fair share, so does the chairman of Patriotic Millionaires. During a taping of the new “Intellectual Property” tv series, Morris Pearl affirmed his support for adjusting the payroll wage cap, which exempts income above $184,500 from Social Security contributions.

“It’s a regressive tax. High earners pay a far lower percentage of their income into Social Security than people who earn less income,” Pearl told host Russell Hodge in response to a question from the audience.

The current payroll wage cap deprives Social Security of trillions of dollars in revenue that could be used to keep the system solvent for decades – if not till the end of the century. This is key because the program’s trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted in 2032 unless Congress takes preventive action.

Because of the payroll wage cap, billionaires and millionaires stop paying into Social Security in the beginning of every January; most everyone else contributes all year. Pearl says that when he was working on Wall Street and earning huge annual bonuses, he used to think that everyone stopped paying into Social Security during the first month of the year “because I only paid it in January.”

As Senator Elizabeth Warren puts it, “A teacher earning $60,000 pays Social Security taxes on every dollar she earns. A worker earning $184,500 does too. But someone earning $10 million pays tax on just the first $184,500? That doesn’t make sense. We can protect Social Security if everyone pays their fair share.”

Senator Warren and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) ), are calling for eliminating the Social Security payroll tax cap. The proposal would require higher-wage earners to pay Social Security taxes on more of what they earn. (It’s the first bipartisan proposal to make the wealthy pay their fair share.) Other Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Brendan Boyle, and Rep. Val Hoyle have already introduced legislation to bring more revenue into the system without cutting benefits. Sanders’ bill modestly expands benefits — and would subject some of the wealthy’s investment income to Social Security taxation, a policy that Pearl supports.

“I think that investment income and earned income… should be taxed the same way,” Pearl told the audience at the Weinberg Center in Frederick, MD, where the episode of “Intellectual Property” was taped on October 16, 2026.

Pearl and the Patriotic Millionaires believe that the wealthy should be paying more in general income taxes, too, including themselves. “This tax system charges people who work for a living a big percentage of their income – 20%, 30% — while people who are already rich and don’t have to work pay either nothing or a much lower percentage,” Pearl says. “That’s the problem.” In some years, billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk paid zero to 1% of their income in taxes.

“I think part of the role of government is evening out this gross inequality… by having those people who had the good fortune of becoming rich… to pay more taxes.” – Morris Pearl

Voter frustration with festering income inequality helped power Democratic victories in the midterms. “The Democrats raged vertically at the billionaires and elites who rule the U.S. political system, blaming them for rising income inequality that leaves Americans feeling like it’s impossible to get ahead,” observed The Guardian news site.

While Social Security was not the number one issue this year, it figured prominently in the minds of older voters. Ninety percent of voters 50-plus said it was “very important” or “extremely important” for elected officials to prioritize preventing benefit cuts, according to a survey by a nonpartisan research organization at the University of Chicago.

We endorsed more than 50 congressional candidates who won on November 3rd, because they vowed to strengthen Social Security with no benefit cuts. Morris Pearl encourages Americans to dialogue with their elected leaders – and their fellow citizens – to effectuate change. Given the results of the midterms, they should find plenty of lawmakers willing to listen.

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Intellectual Property, a production of 3 Roads Communications, is a sixty-minute discussion program with American thought leaders. The series will broadcast nationally on PBS and stream through major outlets including Amazon Prime Video and Tubi. For more information, visit intellectualpropertytv.com The Morris Pearl episode is available on YouTube now.