Roman citizens could be either free (libertas) or servile (servitus), but they all had rights in law. After the Edict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion. Roman legal doctrine was lost during the Middle Ages, but claims of universal rights could still be made based on religious doctrine.
I get the impression that many Americans believe Medicare is financed like Social Security. They know that a portion of payroll taxes goes to Social Security and a portion goes to Medicare. So they conclude workers are paying for Medicare benefits the same way they are paying for Social Security benefits. That isnât remotely true, as new data from the Congressional Budget Office demonstrate. In 2010, payroll taxes covered a little more than a third of Medicareâs costs. Beneficiary premiums (and some other earmarked receipts) covered about a seventh.
People who work for themselves pay a self-employment tax â the Self Employment Contributions Act (SECA) tax â to fund Social Security and Medicare. These taxes are equivalent to FICA taxes; the same basic rates and caps effectively apply. A third federal payroll tax is the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax.