Did Obama negotiate any concessions from the Republicans? Many point to the temporary reduction in the SocSec payroll tax, which will put money in the pocket of wage earners. That seems to be a concession, right?
NO. Not a concession. It is a honey trap. Remember the SocSec problem: funding is not sufficient to continue paying full benefits indefinitely. The solution is to either INCREASE the funding, or decrease the benefits. The progressive solution is to raise or eliminate the "cap" on taxable income. This solution seems fair enough, if you believe our society has a moral duty to prevent poverty among those who are too old to work.
If we agree to DECREASE the funding now, we will reduce the viability of SocSec. We will have made the SocSec shortfall more extreme, and will be faced with the prospect of supporting "a tax increase" on ALL AMERICANS, rather than simply an extension of current rates to those with incomes above $100,000. I suspect that the prospect of this Democratic dilemma was behind the Republican "concession" on the payroll tax. Not a concession at all.