Posted on 11/29/2011 4:54:09 PM PST by rabscuttle385
WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday threw their support behind a payroll tax cut extension, trying to blunt charges ahead of 2012 elections of favoring wealthy Americans over middle-class workers.
Until Tuesday, Republicans had been lukewarm on extending President Barack Obama's payroll tax cut for workers, indicating they were open to negotiating it but never explicitly backing a measure, which the White House says will boost the country's sputtering economic recovery.
(snip)
"In all likelihood we will agree to continue the current payroll tax relief for another year," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said after a closed-door meeting of his colleagues.
McConnell said there was now "a majority sentiment" among Republicans for continuing the temporary tax cut.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Thank goodness. I don’t vote GOP in order for money to be taken out of my paycheck. This lower tax rate for the Social Security Ponzi program should be made PERMANENT. That’ll put more pressure on them to start doing what’s needed: cut gov’t spending.
Right. Any minute now.
Say what? That money is presumably your insurance premium.
If they give in here, theyll give in anywhere. Absolutely disgusting and cowardly.
Social Security taxes aren’t an “insurance premium”. They’re payments into a ponzi scheme. Let me keep the money I earn and invest it my self, not have sucked into a fraudulent scheme that spends it as soon as the tax is collected.
As I mentioned on another thread, any freeper who really believes he or she isn’t paying enough to the federal government, is free to send in more money, voluntarily. Count me out - my family and I can’t afford to be so generous to the feds and the Social Security ponzi fraud.
Go ahead, drive the Ponzi deeper into the red. Why the hell not... it’s just Monopoly money.
The sooner we realize we have a one party system. the sooner we can go about fixing it.
If you’re young and counting on Social Security for your retirement, think again.
We’re better off being allowed to keep the money in our paycheck and investing it ourselves. Social Security doesn’t invest our money, it spends it on today’s government programs. The whole thing is a fraud, and the less I’m forced to pay into it, the better.
If they give in here
You mean, if they don’t force me to surrender more of my paycheck to the Social Security fraud fund?
Unlike you, that won’t disgust me, that’ll make me and my kids happy. I’ll have $1000 more for savings, instead of $1000 lifted out of my paycheck and sent into the federal government’s black hole.
This is what is really happening. The politicians have created a fraudulent Ponzi scheme and called it Social Security. In 1966 LBJ created the unified budget in which the annual surpluses contributed to Social Security were used in the general fund. The government kept track of how much Social Security money was given the the general fund. They called this amount the Social Security Trust Fund. It is about $35 trillion.
In the last 11 months Social Security outflows have been greater than inflows. Social Security is effectively bankrupt and the only reason checks continue to go out is the government borrows more money.
The so called “payroll tax” that the article refers to are actually contributions to the Social Security. The irresponsible politicians are making a fraudulent scheme that elderly Americans depend on for living expenses even more underfunded. It will make it run out of money sooner. None of these politicians who claim credit for the “payroll tax cut” will ever take responsibility when Social Security becomes insolvent. When the elderly have no source of income and face insolvency and starvation no politician will be said to be responsible.
Social Security needs to be reformed, restructured and put on sound financial footing. Reducing Social Security contributions will only make things worse.
As I mentioned on another thread, any freeper who really believes he or she isn’t paying enough to the federal government, is free to send in more money, voluntarily. Count me out - my family and I can’t afford to be so generous to the feds and the Social Security ponzi fraud.
Thank you. You are exactly correct.
What conservative in his right mind would oppose extending this tax cut? Hell, if Obama wants to cut it still further, we should one up him and propose an even deeper cut. Social Security is indeed nothing but a ponzi scheme. I'd prefer to invest my own money, thank you very much. We would be INSANE to put ourselves in a position to oppose this payroll tax cut extension. It would make the Democrats the party of tax cuts for every worker, and the Republicans the party of increased worker taxes.
The trust fund is about 2.3 trillion not 35 trillion
I think if we each hold our breath, you while waiting for spending cuts and me while waiting for default, I’ll have better odds.
A bigger ponzi scheme is our debt. We’ll be over 90% of GDP before the next president signs his first budget. We’ll be default at around 120%, probably in his first term.
“payroll tax cut”
I will never get that. What it really is, is a cut in the Social Security Tax. Social security is now in the red. So this “cut” means that more money needs to be borrowed to pay out Social security. Both now and in the future. Instead of fixing social security they actually made it more insolvent by this move. Not that it matters that much. The whole system is going to collapse in the weight of borrowed debt anyways.
At this rate, however, when will we they end this temporary payroll tax holiday and start funding social security at full strength again? People won't be too happy.
Social security has not added one single dollar to the deficit. If something isn’t done it will soon be adding to our debt, and reducing the payroll tax without making fundamental changes to the program will only speed that day’s arrival.
And for the other side of the story, which will allow the the Dems to still claim the Republicans are cheating lower incomes in favor of the rich:
“”The Democrats’ bill would extend and expand last year’s tax break. Payroll taxes, cut to 4.2 % from 6.2% last year, would be lowered to 3.1%. That would provide middle class families with up to $1,500 more in their paychecks next year, Democrats said. Democrats would also partially extend the break to employers, hoping that might spur hiring. The price tag of the bill is about $265 billion, according to aides.
“”Democrats want to pay for it with a 3.25% surtax on annual income over $1 million, and they sense they have the political advantage on the issue.””
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