Wouldn't keeping the 2% reduction on FICA taxes help more people than extending the Child Tax Credit

[RB TexLa]

This seems to be a no brainier. The FICA reduction helps everyone and it helps through out the year. This is a fairer way to help the middle class.

[doc03]

1. It only helps those who have jobs and it robs funding from SS. The Child Tax

Credit only helps those with children. What about people without jobs, retired people and people no children?

[bornskeptic]

4. Of course the payroll tax cut hasn't taken a dime away from Social Security,

but I suppose that is a fact which doesn't mesh with your agenda, whatever it is.

[kentuck]

6. Keep telling yourself that.

Who told you that anyway? When the people stop paying into the SS fund, watch how fast it dries up. The only thing that keeps it alive is that it does not come out of the general fund.

[doc03]

8. +1 The money that isn't paid into the payroll tax doesn't just fall

out of the sky, it adds to the deficit. A lot of us were against the payroll tax cut from the get go and what we said is exactly what has happened. It is easy to give a tax cut but when it comes time to expire nobody wants to give it up. With the payroll tax cut the Republicans can now truthfully say that SS contributed to the deficit and link it to cuts in SS.

[plethoro]

9. Where do you think that portion of the missed SS payments have come

from for the last two years? It's come from the General Fund. Using money from the General Fund establishes and further cements the belief that Social Security contributes to the deficit. And that's the rationale they will use when they finally cut it and people under 50 get zilch. And that includes my daughter. I am already reducing monies given to charities at estimated tax time to transfer more into her bank account. When they begin the real cuts like the 10-25% prorated by earnings, I won't giving any money to charity. If that sounds mean, I'm sorry. When the corporatists steal what is me and mine, then that sets up a whole new dynamic.

[awake]

2. And how would you pay for the earned benefits of Social Security and Medicare

[snappyturtle]

3. How about we keep both and cut the DOD...a lot? nt

[Sadiedog]

5. exactly!

[TheProgressive]

7. Restore the payroll tax and implement an equal lower fed tax...

The payroll tax in another means to harm Social Security.

[Igel]

10. FICA reduction helps more people. But not everyone.

Lots of people are in state-sponsored DCPs. My wife and I don't pay FICA. Medicare, but not FICA. The reduction didn't help us. It's recission won't help us.

Also keep in mind that the child-care deduction is, IIRC, refundable. A disproportionate number of children live with poor Americans, so think of the child-care deduction as preferentially affecting families under or near the poverty level.

Yes, the FICA reduction helps the middle class probably more. It's not a government of the middle class, by the middle class, for the middle class.

[GeorgeGist]

11. Destroying SS is no way to help the middle class.