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corkhead

(6,119 posts)
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:23 PM Jan 2013

The the end of payroll tax break is a time bomb

Mark my words. When John Q. Public gets their next paycheck and sees that it is more than a little light, the shit is going to hit the fan. This is going to blindside an uninformed and unsuspecting public. No matter how you slice it, this is a tax increase that is going to reduce paychecks by a noticeable amount. That is roughly 2% of your paycheck on most of us, unless you're name is Richie Rich, "The Donald" or Mitt.

I believe this was a trap set by the Democrats to light the fuse on Republicons. This thing isn't over.

30 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The the end of payroll tax break is a time bomb (Original Post) corkhead Jan 2013 OP
sheeeeit, john q public did not even know they got the tax break in their paychecks for four years. seabeyond Jan 2013 #1
^^^^^____^^^^^ this nadinbrzezinski Jan 2013 #2
BINGO FreakinDJ Jan 2013 #4
me, too. nt seabeyond Jan 2013 #5
Me too. lonestarnot Jan 2013 #15
I was against it as well Liberalynn Jan 2013 #22
K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! RKP5637 Jan 2013 #26
Yep! SammyWinstonJack Jan 2013 #28
Meh... the Republicans will go on overdrive telling Mr. Public "Obama did it!" jberryhill Jan 2013 #3
It was never meant to be permanent. subterranean Jan 2013 #6
No, the creation of the break was the time bomb. TheKentuckian Jan 2013 #7
The "cut" has been covered by the General Fund, tying Social Security to the deficit. RomneyLies Jan 2013 #8
You are wrong. It is dumb to Pretzel_Warrior Jan 2013 #9
One way or another, it may not have been the greatest idea to begin with bhikkhu Jan 2013 #10
As a payroll administrator, I personally can't wait Freddie Jan 2013 #11
Just paste a note on your desk: The decrease on your paycheck is thanks to the Republicans. Panasonic Jan 2013 #17
Unfortunately she's another Repug Freddie Jan 2013 #25
It was a horrible idea at the time exboyfil Jan 2013 #12
No, it was a temporary stimulus measure. That tax is what finds Social Security. nt geek tragedy Jan 2013 #13
What about they payments into SS. I guess the money will start going back into it for richie rich lonestarnot Jan 2013 #14
It was a stupid idea whose time has come and gone. Autumn Jan 2013 #16
My house rep. (DeFazio) has said exactly the same thing again and again. Poll_Blind Jan 2013 #20
I am glad to see this one and the tax breaks for the wealthy to expire. Autumn Jan 2013 #23
It never should have been "holidayed" in the first place. Blue_In_AK Jan 2013 #18
An uninformed John Q. Public may blame Obama davidn3600 Jan 2013 #19
This should never have been done in the first place SoCalDem Jan 2013 #21
+1. SS needs to return to being a self-sustaining program. reformist2 Jan 2013 #29
I'm sure they'll decry the loss just as loudly as they praised the gain. Lone_Star_Dem Jan 2013 #24
It will be about $22 less every two weeks for me. QED Jan 2013 #27
I did not even notice any increase SheilaT Jan 2013 #30
 

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
1. sheeeeit, john q public did not even know they got the tax break in their paychecks for four years.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:25 PM
Jan 2013

they said obama increased their payroll tax

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
3. Meh... the Republicans will go on overdrive telling Mr. Public "Obama did it!"
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:26 PM
Jan 2013

And at least 20% of the public will believe it. Maybe as many as 40.

subterranean

(3,427 posts)
6. It was never meant to be permanent.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:38 PM
Jan 2013

It has to end sooner or later. I would prefer to either let it expire now or extend it for just one more year. People will quickly adjust to the new amount.

TheKentuckian

(24,949 posts)
7. No, the creation of the break was the time bomb.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:39 PM
Jan 2013

You were literally begged not to do it. Begged.

Our best hope is that those that seem to have failed to notice the increase will fail to notice the decrease, doubtful, the same corporate media that utterly failed to highlight will be sure to tell folks to check their stubs early and often.

If they do notice then the anti-Social Security stuff will eventually ramp up further, super stupid thing to ever do.

 

RomneyLies

(3,333 posts)
8. The "cut" has been covered by the General Fund, tying Social Security to the deficit.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:40 PM
Jan 2013

I'd rather see it end and end all ties between Social Security and the General Fund.

 

Pretzel_Warrior

(8,361 posts)
9. You are wrong. It is dumb to
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:44 PM
Jan 2013

"save" millions of people a couple of extra bucks they won't miss and then sacrifice liquidity of social security and Medicare.

bhikkhu

(10,708 posts)
10. One way or another, it may not have been the greatest idea to begin with
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:44 PM
Jan 2013

its possible that the other side went along with it to begin with, knowing the bad feelings that would be associated with ending it...but in any case, so be it.

Its a small deduction that funds Social Security, so I'm fine with it - though I know how personal budgets tend to go; you become accustomed to whatever you have, or need tends to rise to meet supply.

Freddie

(9,232 posts)
11. As a payroll administrator, I personally can't wait
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 08:56 PM
Jan 2013

"Why is my check smaller?" and having to explain it ad infinitum. I'm at a public school and I deal mostly with teachers, a group you'd think would keep up with the news but a surprising amount of them do not. Even worse a fair number of them (including the head of the union??!!) are Republicans -- they bring up the topic, I absolutely never discuss politics at work. Just smile and change the subject.

 

Panasonic

(2,921 posts)
17. Just paste a note on your desk: The decrease on your paycheck is thanks to the Republicans.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:20 PM
Jan 2013

for raising their taxes.

They will know exactly who to direct the blame to - set up your voice mail for that. Tell the supervisor it's the truth.

Freddie

(9,232 posts)
25. Unfortunately she's another Repug
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:34 PM
Jan 2013

I like her a lot but for that one character flaw. Will just tell people the payroll tax holiday from 2 years ago is over and it's back to the usual rate.
The only time I *almost* got onto a political discussion at work was when a teacher came in to add his 20-something kid to his insurance because "I can now because of that Obama crap, right?" Bit my lip.

exboyfil

(17,857 posts)
12. It was a horrible idea at the time
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:15 PM
Jan 2013

and I said so on the board for just this reason. The other problem is that it is a lost opportunity because we could have raised the cap now and kept the rate down. It would have been an important instructive opportunity that is now lost.

In the world of no or little annual raises, 2% represents a lot of money. I understand why it is happening, and I will adjust but many people are going to have problems.

 

lonestarnot

(77,097 posts)
14. What about they payments into SS. I guess the money will start going back into it for richie rich
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:18 PM
Jan 2013

to drool over some more.

Poll_Blind

(23,864 posts)
20. My house rep. (DeFazio) has said exactly the same thing again and again.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:23 PM
Jan 2013

"Stupid" is an appropriate word. Incredibly stupid.

It's also becoming more and more dangerous as this "holiday" continues.

PB

Autumn

(44,762 posts)
23. I am glad to see this one and the tax breaks for the wealthy to expire.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:32 PM
Jan 2013

Both of these have done much damage.

SoCalDem

(103,856 posts)
21. This should never have been done in the first place
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:30 PM
Jan 2013

FICA/payroll taxes are defined taxes especially earmarked for SS/Medicare (even though technically, we know there is no "lockbox&quot ..

The temporary deduction was all we could get , when what we needed was a true stimulus/rollback on real-estate principal/fed tax credit for those at $50..k & under/elimination of ANY cap on upper limit deductions/subjecting income to FICA that are not "paycheck/payroll" income.. stuff like dividends/interest if it exceeds a defined amount....and maybe starting a stock transaction/share fee....stuff like that.

When FICA is "shorted", like it's been for a while now, the general fund is being used to "make up the difference".. This action only gives MORE cover for right wingers who want to call SS/medicare as a "hand-out" program, rather than one funded by payroll taxes we all contribute to (a true entitlement)

For us it amounted to about $20 a week take home.. We can do without it, if it means getting back to normalcy.

reformist2

(9,841 posts)
29. +1. SS needs to return to being a self-sustaining program.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:43 PM
Jan 2013

The longer it goes without being properly funded, the more Repugs can claim that it is dependent upon the general fund. Eventually they will be right, if we don't restore the payroll tax.

Lone_Star_Dem

(28,158 posts)
24. I'm sure they'll decry the loss just as loudly as they praised the gain.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:32 PM
Jan 2013

Oh wait, they didn't praise anything. There was a lot of complaining that it was too small to be helpful and some people saying they never knew it existed.

QED

(2,730 posts)
27. It will be about $22 less every two weeks for me.
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:41 PM
Jan 2013

In real terms, that's my monthly pet food budget.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
30. I did not even notice any increase
Tue Jan 1, 2013, 09:55 PM
Jan 2013

in my paycheck when it happened.

Of course, I'm paid hourly, and my hours are always a little different from paycheck to paycheck. And I also thought it was about the stupidest idea out there, and was just a time bomb waiting to go off.

Kind of lack back when the Bush tax cuts were originally proposed, everyone with half a functioning brain knew that they were a stupid idea, would create huge deficits, and there'd be hell to pay when they expired.

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