How about this idea?

Take the 2% FICA reduction and end the salary cap. I would even go along with the rest of the plan if they would do that.

My biggest problem with all this is that the argument for taxing high incomes at higher rates is not being made. High incomes are the ones that divert the higher levels of government to their own use. Ever know a poor person to start a war? How many lobbyists does the middle class have to redirect the efforts of government into their own pocket? Let's help them be patriotic, shall we?

I might consider taking the 2% reduction and ending the salary cap if it increased net payments into Social Security and Medicare.

The problem here is that once we "temporarily" reduce the payroll tax it will be nearly impossible to restore it. That's the plan, I'm sure. And this proposal comes at the same time the same people tell us Social Security is broke.

I'm for keeping the current rate and eliminating the cap or raising it to $1 million or something.

And I agree with the Mrs. that if it's supposed to be some kind of stimulus move just cut everybody a one-time check as a credit.

I agree totally except NPR explained last night that this part does call for a reimbursement to the S.S. trust fund from general revenues so that it won't affect Social Security. Nonetheless it's just a borrow from Peter to pay Paul gimmick. And it just sets up the eventual removal of this temporary cut to be depicted as a tax increase later, just like the way the immoral Bush tax cuts are being portrayed now, virtually guaranteeing that this will be a permanent cut.

Oops, I see we were typing at the same time re the "temp" aspect.

I like the poetry of having 2% off the top of Dick Ceheny's income go to Old age Insurance and Disability for lower income Americans. It's a pipe dream anyway.

Employers pay at the same rate as the employee on their wages for Social Security. Does that mean employees stop paying that 2% into S.S. and the employer also saves that 2%? If so 4% less would be going into your S.S. retirement/disability/survivor benefits. Don't you think that will affect you when you get ready to retire? Taking it out of one pot to put it in the other seems like a way to undermine Social Security. Seems that if the big guys can't privitize S. S. now, they will find some other way to do it in.

Saul Friedman
GRAY MATTERS: Potential Medicare Dangers

(link...)

Social Security advocates fear payroll tax cut

They're laying the groundwork for slashing SS benefits, counting on the power of collective amnesia.