Social Security tax cut affects all, pumps 120 billion into economy

[spidey07]

This is the biggest stimulus out of the Republican tax plan. It could amount to 2,000 dollars on somebody earning 100,000/yr. A dual income family of 200,000 that would be 4,000 dollars of their money right in their pocket, an extra 330 bucks a month. What is so amazing is this little tidbit right here:

Someone earning $40,000 a year would receive a $800 benefit, and a $70,000 earner would save $1,400, officials said. More than three-fourths of all Americans pay more in these so-called payroll taxes than in federal income taxes.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...e-VqqQ?docId=dc2306522c454ed3a08cc10f8bcfc2cd

You read that right. 3/4ths of all Americans pay less than 6.2% in federal income tax. So this 2% reduction, although it might not sound like a lot on the surface, is actually pretty huge for the middle class. It would affect every worker and let them keep more of their money. That's stimulus I can believe in.

The proposed Social Security tax cut would apply to virtually every working American. For one year they would pay 4.2 percent of their income, instead of 6.2 percent, to the government retirement program, fattening U.S. paychecks by $120 billion in 2011.

 

[PokerGuy]

Sounds like a good idea, but only as a temporary stopgap until federal spending can be slashed to more realistic levels.

 

[ElFenix]

no shit most people pay more in payroll taxes (btw, most workers bear the burden of the employer's share so it's much closer to 12.4&#37 than in income taxes. that's why it's an outright lie to claim that the bottom half of people pay 0 taxes. social security is just another tax.

 

[Acanthus]

Reducing social security tax when it is already underfunded.

Nice.

 

[JSt0rm]

Sounds like a good idea, but only as a temporary stopgap until federal spending can be slashed to more realistic levels.

What do you suggest slashing?

 

[soulcougher73]

Reducing social security tax when it is already underfunded.

Nice.

Is it really underfunded or is the problem that they loot it all the time for other pet projects?

 

[Zorba]

Reducing social security tax when it is already underfunded.

Nice.

This was my exactly thoughts.

Democrats: "To reduce the deficit we need to raise taxes"
Republicans: "To reduce the deficit we need to reduce spending"
Compromise: "Screw the deficit, reduce taxes and raise spending."

A real compromise would've been to raise taxes AND reduce spending. This compromise just proves no one really cares about the deficit.

 

[Acanthus]

Is it really underfunded or is the problem that they loot it all the time for other pet projects?

The former is because of the latter.

However now it is underfunded.

 

[soulcougher73]

This was my exactly thoughts.

Democrats: "To reduce the deficit we need to raise taxes"
Republicans: "To reduce the deficit we need to reduce spending"
Compromise: "Screw the deficit, reduce taxes and raise spending."

A real compromise would've been to raise taxes AND reduce spending. This compromise just proves no one really cares about the deficit.

*Ding* *Ding* *Ding* We have a winner.

 

[theeedude]

This is Democrat idea, not Republican. Reps are just going along to extract tax cuts for the wealthy, just like unemployment benefit extension. Sounds good to me, hopefully they'll make it permanent, and shift more of funding SS to income taxes.

 

[Turin39789]

Going to sit right into my bank account as extra savings, unlike the $300 a week unemployment checks that get spent at walmart every week.

 

[Zebo]

What difference does it make if inflation exceeds it?

You don't really think countries and people who are producers are going to accept counterfeit money at same rates?

Gold 2000K oil 200 all commodities and goods you buy up by next years end. Bank on it.

This is good prognosis.

I actually expect more money to fly out of our country and the value our our currency to collapse....

 

[Zebo]

Going to sit right into my bank account as extra savings, unlike the $300 a week unemployment checks that get spent at walmart every week.

You're still shopping at Wal-Mart who is complicit in Orwell state?

Used to be my favorite store. $5 fiishing rods $5 sun glasses $1 hooks. But I'll go to bass pro from now on.

 

[classy]

Is it really underfunded or is the problem that they loot it all the time for other pet projects?

Thats the real problem. When Bush gave that $600, he took that money right out of Social Security. When he took office the surplus could have sustained SS for close to 50 years at its current payout. Less than 6 years later after Bush and the two wars, SS now is down to 20-25 years before it is in the red. And Obama is a pussy. Because quite frankly dude should have stood his ground, but because he f'ed up the healthcare thing he can't afford to now stand up for whats right. I was dead wrong about him. Great guy but a lousy President and he should not run for re-election.

 

[Vette73]

This was my exactly thoughts.

Democrats: "To reduce the deficit we need to raise taxes"
Republicans: "To reduce the deficit we need to reduce spending"
Compromise: "Screw the deficit, reduce taxes and raise spending."

A real compromise would've been to raise taxes AND reduce spending. This compromise just proves no one really cares about the deficit.

So those that are against this “compromise” have you written your Congressman and Senators to tell them to vote no?
I just wrote all 3. Not sure if it will help but if even 1 senator votes no that will help.

Used the same message but 2 out of the 3 are up for election in less than 2 years. So I always add the part where I vote in every election.

 

[werepossum]

Thats the real problem. When Bush gave that $600, he took that money right out of Social Security. When he took office the surplus could have sustained SS for close to 50 years at its current payout. Less than 6 years later after Bush and the two wars, SS now is down to 20-25 years before it is in the red. And Obama is a pussy. Because quite frankly dude should have stood his ground, but because he f'ed up the healthcare thing he can't afford to now stand up for whats right. I was dead wrong about him. Great guy but a lousy President and he should not run for re-election.

Dude, that's total bullshit. There was never a surplus except by taking every cent of the difference between SS taxes and SS payout. The amount of time before SS is "in the red" is dependent only on total receipts into the lock box versus total obligations; it is affected not at all by tax cuts or spending because it is a bullshit figure useful only for accounting and politics. As a practical matter, Social Security has been in the red since day one, since every excess dollar has been spent on other things. Social Security is broke now, and it has always been broke. Leaving government in charge of large piles of money is like leaving teenage boys in charge of the liquor cabinet.

Reagan started the lock box; previously all payroll taxes went directly into the general account. After SS was separated by law, Congress merely continued spending the receipts, but now they put IOUs (intergovernmental bonds) into a SS account. The time before Social Security becomes bankrupt is immaterial; as there has never been anything more than IOUs in the account, SS will continue to be paid out as long as politicians find it to be politically useful and/or morally proper.

 

[rcpratt]

I've given up trying to care about this tax cut bullshit from a political standpoint and will now just happily collect my $1500.

edit: We are losing Making Work Pay ($400) though, right?

 

[classy]

Dude, that's total bullshit. There was never a surplus except by taking every cent of the difference between SS taxes and SS payout. The amount of time before SS is "in the red" is dependent only on total receipts into the lock box versus total obligations; it is affected not at all by tax cuts or spending because it is a bullshit figure useful only for accounting and politics. As a practical matter, Social Security has been in the red since day one, since every excess dollar has been spent on other things. Social Security is broke now, and it has always been broke. Leaving government in charge of large piles of money is like leaving teenage boys in charge of the liquor cabinet.

Reagan started the lock box; previously all payroll taxes went directly into the general account. After SS was separated by law, Congress merely continued spending the receipts, but now they put IOUs (intergovernmental bonds) into a SS account. The time before Social Security becomes bankrupt is immaterial; as there has never been anything more than IOUs in the account, SS will continue to be paid out as long as politicians find it to be politically useful and/or morally proper.

Come again?

http://oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2365&catid=44:legislation

President's Social Security Statements Break Moral and Legal Commitment
"Some people in America ... think that the federal government all these years has been collecting your payroll taxes and we're holding it for you. And then when you get ready to retire, we give it back to you. That's not the way it works."
- The President, April 15, 2005

Since President Bush took office in 2000, the federal government has borrowed more than $500 billion from the Social Security system. The President's most recent budget projects that the federal government will borrow an additional $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years. This money has been used to pay for government expenditures that have included multiple rounds of tax cuts for the very wealthy.

 

[wayliff]

This was my exactly thoughts.

Democrats: "To reduce the deficit we need to raise taxes"
Republicans: "To reduce the deficit we need to reduce spending"
Compromise: "Screw the deficit, reduce taxes and raise spending."

A real compromise would've been to raise taxes AND reduce spending. This compromise just proves no one really cares about the deficit.

YES!

 

[spidey07]

I've given up trying to care about this tax cut bullshit from a political standpoint and will now just happily collect my $1500.

edit: We are losing Making Work Pay ($400) though, right?

My understanding is the ARRA cuts are included.

What makes the SS reduction so important is it applies to every worker (W-2 or 1099 or self employed) regardless of income or deductions.

 

[JS80]

This is so awesome. $4k in my pocket and SS, which I will never see a penny of anyway, will go broke faster! Win/win.

 

[werepossum]

Come again?

http://oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2365&catid=44:legislation

President's Social Security Statements Break Moral and Legal Commitment
"Some people in America ... think that the federal government all these years has been collecting your payroll taxes and we're holding it for you. And then when you get ready to retire, we give it back to you. That's not the way it works."
- The President, April 15, 2005

Since President Bush took office in 2000, the federal government has borrowed more than $500 billion from the Social Security system. The President's most recent budget projects that the federal government will borrow an additional $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years. This money has been used to pay for government expenditures that have included multiple rounds of tax cuts for the very wealthy.

Again, even when the Republican Congress had a "balanced budget", it was balanced only by taking all the excess Social Security receipts, spending them, and issuing IOUs in their place. There has never been anything in the SS trust fund except IOUs. Your link is merely some Democrats attacking Bush for exactly what had been done before him, and what is being done after him - except he's speaking the truth about it. There may be a significant difference between borrowing every single dollar plus a billion, and borrowing every single dollar plus a trillion, but it's exactly the same result for the Social Security trust fund; it has exactly the same amount of IOUs in it either way - and nothing else.

 

[theeedude]

This is so awesome. $4k in my pocket and SS, which I will never see a penny of anyway, will go broke faster! Win/win.

No one is going to let SS go broke. It'll get bailed out from the general funds. Politicians who vote against the bailout will get thrown out of office.

 

[manimal]

can we lay to rest the BS uncertainty rhetoric now?


seriously...


Oh btw any of you who even mention the deficit from now on who agree with the tax cuts for the top brackets are living in a fantasy world....


seriously..

 

[Zebo]

They'll still get paid but money wont mean anything.