I am all for helping out working Americans, but continuing or expanding the payroll tax cut is a danger to Social Security, and Republican opposition seems a like Brer Rabbit asking not t be thrown in the briar patch. It gives them a great opening to politicize the money of Social security more than ever before.
Paraphrasing what I said when this cut was first proposed and passed last year - "good luck trying to call it back". Payroll tax cuts put Social security into budget play when it does not have not be there at all. It is half-penny-wise and 3 pounds foolish, as it offer little help to the middle class and poor, while further endangering their quality of their later life.
What we need are jobs. We do not need to be taking money out of social security paryoll tax stream.
I understand about pragmatism, bi-partisanship, election year politics, the art of the possible. But a bad idea can still be a bad idea, even if your side proposes it, even if it can pass, even if it had bi-partisan support, even if is seems pragmatic short term.
Social security is a success story. Even though the money lost to SS in the cut must be recouped from the general fund, such as action opens SS to political partisanship in an entirely new way, and increases the future chance that the program will become a political football.
Continued cuts to social security payroll taxes could in future make SS fully funded by general funds -thus making it far more a part of the general budget that it ever was before, with all the filibustering, political posturing, and backroom negotiations that go on with budgets.
Want to cut social security payroll tax on middle and lower incomes ? Then increase the income level subject to payroll taxes so that replacement money comes in the system the same way, WITHOUT opening it up to political f*cking about.
In any case, the real issue is jobs and the corrupting disfunction of the American economy, and no one on either side seems to want to do what is necessary to fix that. Payroll tax muckery is just election year posturing, and partisan one-upmanship. it does not help the country.