Higher SS tax is going to hurt--dems might have a hard time asking for more sacrifice.

[European Socialist]

Also , I don't think SS tax can be used as tax liability for tax credits. Think about it a few days Dems.

[W_HAMILTON]

1. Yep...

For all the talk about reducing the burden on the middle (and presumably, lower) class, the payroll tax hike is apparently one of the few tax hikes that won't be adjusted/reduced. Go figure. I am fully for funding Social Security and Medicare, but don't give me bullshit about how we need to bump up the income tax threshold from $250k to $400/$450k because we don't want to hurt people all the while nothing is done regarding the automatic payroll tax increase, a tax increase that will affect a helluva lot more people than those income tax increases. They should have keep the payroll tax cut and increased the taxable threshold or something like that to offset the reduced revenue.

[dflprincess]

2. Or cut income tax another 2% for those making < $110,000.

Then it would have been a wash with the SS increase.

[regnaD kciN]

5. The problem with making the payroll tax cut permanent...

...is that, without that funding, SS is no longer independent of the budget deficit, since the shortfall is coming out of the budget. Therefore, it becomes far more credible to call for SS benefit cuts as part of any long-term debt-reduction plan.

[dflprincess]

14. I understand that.

and I was opposed to the payroll tax "holiday" from the start for the reasons you listed.

My point to the other poster was, if the Democrats want to make the return to the 6.2% rate less painful for the middle class (whom they all claim they want to help) the income tax rate could be dropped 2% but only for those who make less than $110K as they are the ones who will be affected by the increase in the payroll tax. It's really what they should have done two years ago rather than putting Social Security at risk.

[hfojvt]

3. no, THAT I can actually be happy about

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/160

Of course, the accursed payroll tax cuts would have cost about the same as the extension up to $450,000 and would have given much less to the rich than that extension did.

[doc03]

4. We have to get real we do have one hell of a debt

The payroll tax holiday was supposed to be (temporary) same as the Bush tax cuts were. SS was separate from the federal budget for 70 plus years, SS was self supporting until now. We are stealing money from future generations to pay what we were happy to pay for decades until this ill conceived payroll tax holiday.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. +1. nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. Actually, this I'm fine with.

There's no way something like that should have been left in place. That's a needed revenue for Social Security.

[HiPointDem]

7. what higher ss tax? is it actually a higher tax, or just the end of the tax holiday?

[European Socialist]

8. less take home pay

the masses are not going to be happy in the coming weeks while Obama has to talk about entitlement cuts.

[HiPointDem]

10. you didn't answer the question.

[European Socialist]

11. OK--tax holiday.expires.

All people care about will be less take home pay.

[HiPointDem]

13. the same takehome they got before the holiday.

[MadHound]

12. Umm, we do need to pay for Social Security,

And a revenue tax, like we had, is the best way to do so. Pulling the funds for SS out of general revenue makes them vulnerable to the machinations of Congress.

By the by, it will only cost people around twenty dollars a week. I think most folks can afford that, it isn't the end of the world.