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An addendum to previous coverage of Republican attacks on Social Security: Social Security: impugned unjustly, Resist the catfood commission
I assumed that the cut in FICA taxes that was part of Obama’s tax cut deal was meant to have a stimulative effect. Silly me. It’s more like part of the ongoing campaign to slice and dice Social Security, as Huffington Post lays out for us:
Obama, as part of the Democratic package, secured a roughly 30 percent cut in the payroll tax, from 6.2 to 4.2 percent. Allowing it to expire in a year will mean that workers will see a nearly 50 percent jump in payroll taxes as the rate reverts back — an event that will surely be described as a tax hike. The cut is estimated to cost $120 billion per year.
……..Republicans acknowledged that the expiration of the tax holiday will be treated as a tax increase. “Once something like this goes into place, a year from now, when it expires, it’ll be portrayed as a tax increase,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). So in a body like Congress, precedents matter and this is setting a precedent. I think that certainly is going to create some problems down the road if it passes.”
Given that Congress, under Democratic control, can’t gather itself to let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire, members of both parties are convinced that letting the payroll tax rate revert back to its current spot will be near impossible.
“Once you bring a rate down, if it goes back up, people will feel that. They’ll feel their paycheck being less and that argument” — that letting it expire amounts to a tax hike — “eventually is bound to be made,” said Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.).
When Republicans tell us that the cut is part of their assault, we’d be fools not to believe them.
Yes I think the Huff Po is right on. After trying for years (and succeeding for the most part) to brainwash us into thinking that SS and Medicare are “entitlement” programs, they will make both programs into just that. What a conundrum. They owe the SS fund big bucks, but they will borrow the money from China to fund the 2% reduction in FICA and will say that the prgs are being funded from GR. Once they begin funding these prgs with GR money, they will be able to legally define them as entitlments. And just as w. Medicaid, politicians can fund such programs or they can cut them.
But one more point to ponder in the midst of all of these deals and backrooms and smoke and gobbledegook, realize for a moment that all roads lead back to single payer. The problem is not w. SS or w. Medicare per se. The problems is w. health care. Reform health care, improve Medicare and save $400 billion per year to cover the uninsured with healthcare savings. Reduce the deficit w.money saved from the current “unreformed” bill. After that we could concentrate on ending a few of these foreign wars.
see here
there exists a memory of a specific discussion of the fact that some of these T bills are coming due in 2019. Maybe that is what is making our pols run to counter this in some way. Has anyone read anything about this. But no matter, this is a grave assault upon the premise of SS as written. I am glad this blog is speaking out on the issue.