Trump's radical plan to waive payroll tax
would punch hole in Social Security,
Medicare budgets
Reuters,
by
Howard Schneider
&
Steve Holland
Original Article
Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk,
3/11/2020 5:51:41 PM
Washington - President Donald Trump has picked his favorite weapon to fight the economic fallout from the coronavirus - an elimination of the “payroll tax” on workers’ gross earnings that is used to fund national retirement programs. Trump advisers on the White House economic team and Republican lawmakers are pushing for more targeted stimulus. But Trump has held firm on the idea, White House and Republican sources say.
Trump told Republican senators in a meeting Tuesday he would like to waive the payroll tax entirely through the end of the year, or even permanently suspend it, one attendee told Reuters.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
DVC 3/11/2020 5:59:22 PM (No. 343388)
There IS NO "Social Security or Meidcare budget" this is pure hokum. A bit under 50% of ALL Federal spending is just borrowed money. As long as we are running massive, unending, uncaring deficits, this makes no difference.
Eventually, we WILL pay the piper, but leftists worrying about this now is pure political hokum. Garbage.
19 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
FormerDem 3/11/2020 6:13:05 PM (No. 343397)
It is a very regressive tax.
2 people like this.
Seem to recall the Obamination administration reducing the payroll tax by 2% to help stimulate his moribund economy, and don't recall any of the left complaining about it blowing a whole in either fund back then either.
What this really means, it would likely work well, and the Democrats can't allow that to happen.
And, with a budget of $4.2 trillion, which we borrow $1 trillion, what difference would another couple hundred billion do?
9 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Illinois Mom 3/11/2020 6:37:35 PM (No. 343424)
A suspension of the payroll taxes would help a lot of people who are impacted by the closing of businesses. The hype by the press is bordering on criminal. After hearing REAL doctors explain things versus the same hysteria we have witness from the MSM over the last few years on everything from "Climate Change to Russian "collusion" it's not a stretch to think that it's just one more tactic to get rid of DJT.
Besides...the old people are all going to be wiped out by the virus and they won't need the money for Soc Sec until the Bernie Bros" turn 65.
9 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
spacer 3/11/2020 6:53:18 PM (No. 343451)
Colas were abolished under President Obamas reign or corruption.
5 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 3/11/2020 7:00:04 PM (No. 343463)
Remember when socialist security was used to help elderly widows avoid getting kicked out on the street for not paying rent? Me neither.
8 people like this.
Didn't we "suspend" tax collection once before, and then people complained because they eventually had to pay AND their refunds were smaller, zero or less?
4 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
stablemoney 3/11/2020 7:13:52 PM (No. 343482)
If they laid off the 50% of bureaucrats making $200K a year with 43 PDO's, that would offset the cost of the payroll tax reduction.
4 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
MindMadeUp 3/11/2020 7:35:05 PM (No. 343505)
It is not "used to fund national retirement programs"! It's used to fund everything BUT Social Security. Elimination of the payroll tax would allow responsible workers to set aside retirement money on their own and end up with much more when they leave the workforce.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 3/11/2020 7:52:25 PM (No. 343519)
First, Socialism InSecurity and Mediscare are radical ideas. Goobernment deciding to take money from some to give to others is a radical idea. Oh, but I paid into Socialism Insecurity? No, the 'lock box' was placed into goobernment bonds. Thus the 'lockbox' funded the regular budget. Goobernment didn't use that money to build wealth, it used it to pay for abortions and welfare and LGTBUC programs and countless other programs to fund Dem supporters. If one took the same money stolen from us in Socialist InSecurity and Mediscare and allow us to invest it into conservative investments,we all would have far more moeny than the goobernment can 'give' us. Oh, and Mediscare has always been money in, money out. That is whay every year Congress has to find funds to pay docotrs for service they didn't get paid for in Oct-Dec f the previous year taking care of Mediscare patients when Mediscare ran out of money. And yes the Coronavirus scare is killing fixed income retirees. That isn't becasue of disease but due to irresponsible media and Democrats trying to weaponize a disease. Just remember, every two years since 2008, we have had life ending viruses (SARS, Ebola, MARS, Swine flu, avian flu...etc,) Markets get hits from fear but recover (assumes Democrats aren't in charged to screw things up like FDR did).
3 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
judy 3/11/2020 7:55:42 PM (No. 343521)
Stop paying the alcohol & dinner bills for federal employees ...that should save millions!
5 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Skeptical1 3/11/2020 8:37:56 PM (No. 343545)
Don't agree with President Trump on this one. Payroll taxes are a good thing. They are the only taxes you pay for which you receive a defined future benefit, just for you, namely Social Security and Medicare. You can argue around the edges about whether you'd have been better off investing for yourself privately (for SS I think yes, for Medicare, not so sure), but the fact is that these benefits are being provided to everyone, and it's good that the recipients have (more or less) paid for them.
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
LadyHen 3/11/2020 9:00:59 PM (No. 343557)
Don't worry. We are your kids and we already know we ain't gettin' a dime from SS. I'd really prefer if they just gave up on the charade all together and let us invest our own damn money!
4 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Salt5792 3/11/2020 9:13:27 PM (No. 343571)
Entitlements are not subject to budgetary control.
0 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
worried 3/11/2020 9:15:19 PM (No. 343573)
Instead of cutting the payroll tax, why not cut welfare benefits, especially those to illegals and those many freeloaders who could work but won't? More than enough would be saved to cover any deficits from keeping the tax.
And I notice from the article that trump's statements were reported by one attendee who told Reuters. Who was this attendee, and how accurate was his reporting? I hope they based this story on more than what one attendee said.
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 3/11/2020 10:34:59 PM (No. 343614)
Ha! This is rich! Social Security is full of IOU’s thanks to both Republicans and Democrats in Congress! Give me a break!
3 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 3/11/2020 10:37:58 PM (No. 343618)
Sorry for second post. Have friends who are multi multi millionaires and get Social Security! And the think that is ok!!! The check to them is like getting a penny in the mail! It must be means tested! If you make over $500,000 per year in retirement income...no SS for you!
1 person likes this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Luandir 3/12/2020 1:19:23 AM (No. 343664)
Did Reuters complain when Zippy did the same thing?
0 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Trigger2 3/12/2020 2:15:28 AM (No. 343685)
If it starts to pinch SS recipients, then issue an E.O. taking all Congressional pay to zero. Add in all goobermint workers while excluding the military. Get those pantywaists a real reason for complaining.
1 person likes this.
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Why is it that even President Trump only sees messing with our "promised" Social Security benefits as a way to inject a trillion-dollar boost into our economy? Most companies like Firefox, chose the hard decision to layoff 75 employees to stay afloat, and not touch anything else. There are more than just the swamp creatures that need to be removed to right the Ship of State in DC. There is plenty of useless government workers within redundant departments that need to be cast off as well. Leave US who paid our taxes alone and decrease the debt and stimulate by ridding the waste of "nepotism" in your backyard, first.