The payroll tax change hit us about $20.00 per week.
That’s substantial “discretionary income”.
I don’t remember the Republicans fighting to keep the payroll tax cut from ending. In fact, on FR in 2011, freepers were arguing AGAINST the payroll tax holiday.
The payroll tax holiday was a scam. It was just another stimulus package that added to our debt and deficit. The SSTF was held harmless as Treasury issued non- market, interest bearing T-bills in the amount of the lost revenue and deposited them into the SSTF. They are just another increase in our debt. SS is a pay as you go program. It has been running in the red since 2010, which means it must redeem its T-bills to fund the shortfall. The tax holiday increased the existing shortfall. The General Fund must redeem the T-bills with 42 cents being borrowed.
The tax holiday cost us over $130 billion a year. SS was just used as a stimulus vehicle in much the same way as a tax rebate would. In this case, more people receive money from the payroll tax holiday than an income tax rebate.
——freepers were arguing AGAINST the payroll tax holiday.——
As I think on it today, I still can’t grasp why the SS holiday was ever considered, much less implemented. It served no useful purpose and may now be more trouble than it was worth as the money it provided is snatched away