Posted on 12/21/2011 1:26:04 PM PST by IBD editorial writer
Politics: Lost in Beltway wrangling over a payroll tax cut, an ugly reality lurks: Our politicians are plotting yet another raid on the Social Security "trust fund," which is already near insolvency. When will this madness stop?
President Obama and his congressional Democrats know well how bad their spendthrift reputation is among voters as election day approaches. With Obama at sub-50% approval numbers and Gallup reporting Congress clocking in at a record-low 11%, they expect a bloodbath at the polls in November — and maybe another slashed debt rating, too.
What then could be better for Democrats than to be able to claim that deep down, they're tax cutters, too? Just like Republicans — whose corporate tax cuts in 1982 led to an unparalleled decade of economic growth.
But Obama and his Democrats don't want to direct any tax cuts toward investment for long term growth — as corporate tax cuts do — but to hand them out to taxpayers like party favors in the hopes it'll pay off come November. It's a political game, but they have few other options aside from cutting spending.
But there's a big catch: The payroll tax cut they seek is nothing more than taking cash from the back pockets of taxpayers and handing it to them up front.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
Less money in contributions while SS payouts get COLAS. Yeah, and if I lower my contribution to my 401k I’ll get a better yield.
As an insider, exactly how long do you think it will be before the media as a whole begins to experience the results of their lack of integrity and objectivity?
....or if that final slow turn down the shi**er is already underway.
(I know our local “news”paper has lost so much circulation, they can only justify their ad rates by giving papers away, and they’re not getting many takers for that deal.)
Alert the old folks!
I have an idea:
If the Democrats think this “tax cut” is good for the economy, why not make it for the full FICA withholding amount of both individual and employer and make it permanent. Then, those who paid into it all their lives and ready to retire will have sufficient amount in their part of the “lock box” to collect it as planned. Those people who contributed a percentage their working years will get that percentage of back from the “lock box” at retirement and then they can use the remaining working years to build a real retirement savings.
Social Security problem solved.
What? No “lockbox”? My, that is a problem, huh?
Has the Social Security tax ever been reduced before? Apparently once it is “temporarily” reduced, it can never be raised again. The FICA tax is the only income tax that most people pay. In order to win votes the politicians will probably lower it to zero.
Why do they keep calling it a SS ‘trust fund? There is no ‘trust’ and there is no ‘fund’.
The SS benefits are just coming from issuing new national debt. Just using the term is giving up.
The last line: “So let’s call it what it is: A tax hike on the young to pay those already working, with the added kicker of an empty pot at the end of the Democrat rainbow.”
BUT that is nothing new. SS was a transfer tax, welfare, and vote buying scheme from the get go. There is no trust fund in any sort of normal financial sense of the term.
Make the cuts bigger and permanent. The terms “trust fund”, “contribution”, “broke”, “insolvent”, ‘earned”, and etc. do not apply to SS. Those terms apply to trust funds and pensions that have legal (as opposed to political) agreements funded by tangible investments (as opposed to US Treasury securities which are only paper claims made against future tax receipts and enforced by politicians). They do not apply to SS which should use the terms TAX and SPEND.
how do they get away with calling this a tax cut? They raise taxes on other people “to pay for it”!
They should call this an attack on seniors, bankrupting SS, a direct attack on seniors health care etc., like the Dems always love to do.
Darn good idea. Best one of the week. I am all in. how do we start the ball rolling?
There is no trust fund, therefore taxes are just taxes. The idea that Social Security taxes are somehow different is a fiction.
So, why are the Republicans sitting back and taking the flak? Never mind, the question was rhetorical.
They should be screaming it at every change they get that this is harming Social Security and is not economically stimulating in the least.
ping
Indeed. The payroll tax revenues are swapped for new debt as it comes in. This just makes us run out of cash more quickly imo
Welcome to the world of redistribution. Believe it or not, some people still don't get it.
May as well! At least such a significant, permanent cut WOULD stimulate the economy some. I'd like to see permanent INCOME tax cuts!
Paging AARP.....
Well, nearly half of tax payers pay only SS taxes. The other appx half ALSO pays income taxes. Seeing as we're not rolling in cash, this shortfall will have to be made up promptly by those who pay income taxes.
Li'l ole redistribution plan... cut 14% of payroll of 100% of workers... then have just the top 50% pay it all back!
AARP is a big left wing supporter. I’ll never join.
The ruling class took, what, about 500 mil from Medicare to fund Obamacare? Nuthin’ from AARP. Now they’re sacking Social Security again in order to bribe voters. Still not a peep outta AARP. Jeez louise, where are greedy geezers when ya need ‘em?!
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