host: stephen ohlemacher, reporter for the associated press. was the lead writer this summer on a series focused on social security. he is also worked for the hartford courant. two tweets -- guest: first, on the means testing, this gets to that issue. when you start to say that a certain group of people are not going to get benefits, then there's the issue of fairness. should they have to pay into the system if they're not going to get benefits? making social security voluntary, that would be difficult to do. a lot of people think i paid my social security taxes every year and that will cause it to be in the trust fund and when i retire they will pay that back to me. that's not how it works. you and me working today, the payroll taxes that we pay are paying for the retirement of our parents and grandparents. making it voluntary would be very difficult, because if i chose not to participate, where would the money comes from to pay for the retirement of my parents and grandparents? host: our next caller is in florida on our democratic line. calle

here is stephen ohlemacher. thank you for being here. how many people in america receive social security? >> a little bit more than 56 million people get social security. the average benefit is a little over $1,200 a month. so maybe it is like $13,000, $14,000 a year. >> we're talking about retirees but also the disabled. >> yes, fairly wide group of people get social security benefits, retired workers, spouses, children, disabled workers, widows, widowers. it is a fairly big social safety net of people who get social security benefits. >> as you mentioned about 56 million the retirees received a $1,2 a month. there is also the s.s.i. about $500 a month. how does social security get financed? >> it has been a self funded program. it is funded by payroll taxes. there's a 12.4% tax on wages up to about $110,000. you make more than that then any money you make over that is not taxed for social security. it is divided equally between your employer and the worker. for the past two years, the workers share has been reduced. that has saved, by

it is involved in the discussions and the negotiations over america's financial future, is stephen ohlemacherg us from the associated press, where he is a reporter. thank you for being here. guest: thank you. host: how many people in america receive social security? guest: a little bit more than 56 million people get social security. the average benefit is a little over $1,200 a month. so maybe it is like $13,000, $14,000 a year. host: we're talking about retirees but also the disabled. guest: yes, fairly wide group of people get social security benefits, retired workers, spouses, children, disabled workers, widows, widowers. it is a fairly big social safety net of people who get social security benefits. host: as you mentioned about 56 million the retirees received a $1,2 a month. there is also the s.s.i. about $500 a month. how does social security get financed? guest: it has been a self funded program. it is funded by payroll taxes. there's a 12.4% tax on wages up to about $110,000. you make more than that then any money you make over that is not taxed for social security. it is divided eq

how it is involved in the discussions, the negotiations over america's financial future, is stephen ohlemacher, joining us from the associated press, where he is a reporter. how much social security do people get? guest: a little more than 66 million people. the average benefit is a little over $12,000 -- a little over $1,200 a month. maybe $13,000 a year or so. host: we are talking about retirees and the disabled. guest: a fairly wide group of people receive social security benefits. retired workers, spouses, children, disabled workers, widows, widowers. a big safety net of people. host: retirees receive about $1,200 a month on average. the benefits for the disabled, $1,100 a month on average. how does social security get financed? guest: it has been a self-funded program since its inception. it is funded by payroll taxes. there's a 12.4% tax on wages up to about $110,000. if you make more than that, any money you make over that is not taxed as part of social security. the tax is divided equally between your employer and the worker. for the past two years, the workers' share of 6.2% has been

after that, we will hear from stephen ohlemacher. you can see "washington journal" everyday life at 7 p.m. -- 7 a.m. eastern here on c-span. coming up next on c-span, the in going an upcoming german discusses what they want to see and a and budget deal. then david walker and rudy penner discuss the fiscal cliff negotiations. later, a discussion on the potential impacts of the negotiations and state budgets. >> the white house was very controversial, as most americans were. they designed washington city. there was competition. he designed a design for a palace. it was not particularly awe- inspiring. in fact, a european diplomat told congress it was neither large or awe-inspiring. but the answer the congressman gave was the building serves its purpose. it is larger and more elegant. photo mer new york times bodh critic on the white house. watch it on sunday on c-span three on "american history tv per." >> congressman steve scalise and jim jordan. >> thank you for coming. to delighted to welcome you a presentation by the outgoing and i