[The_Reader_David]

Left out part employer pays. Will translate to layoffs to compensate.

And rightly so, it was only the employee "contribution" that had the tax-holiday that was allowed to sunset. Employers were still paying 6.2% of employee wages up to the cutoff (a bit over $101K, I think). There it no increase in employer costs to trigger layoffs in that part of the deal -- the only place there would be is in raising rates on folks making $450K per year for small businesses that still file as individuals and have that large an income after deductions, and in the curtailment of deductions if it affects business-expense deductions. (Which is not to say there may well not be lots of layoffs due to Obama policies, just that they will be due to the costs of Obamacare and over-regulation, not the "fiscal cliff" deal.)

[muawiyah]

Think of it this way ~ you'd earlier included an estimate of medical costs in your personal and business decisions. Elective surgery, as well as treatments that could be deferred, were part of your plan. That way if some other financial situation required husbanding resources, you could do that and rescue yourself from bankruptcy or worse.

Now, obamakkkare requires you to figure out your medical costs as your first dollar of expenditure.

We should see a massive increase in bankruptcies and business failures in the first 6 months of next year if this legislative package stays in place.

Obama will have literally destroyed the black middle class ~ among others ~ and ignited a wave of suicides for financial reasons that should shake the foundations of the republic.

And that puke wonders why we need more guns.

[Hoodat]

Employers were still paying 6.2% of employee wages

That's money your employer would be paying you, but gives it to the government instead. It's still your money. The full 100% of social security taxes is coming from you. It is all part of your total income - your employer's cost of keeping you employed.

When your employer on paper pays you $10/hr, they are really paying $10.62/hr (not including other payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, etc.) Their cost to employ you is $10.62/hr. But instead of giving you all that money, they give some of it to the government instead on your behalf. So yes, you are really paying the entire 12.4% instead of only 6.2%. For the $10.62/hr that your employer allocates for your labor, $1.24 goes to the government which will end up in the general fund. Your employer takes no hit here.