Republicans are suddenly oh-so concerned about the long-term fiscal viability of Social Security. Here, via
David Dayen, is one of them,
Rep. David Schweikert:
Unlike other taxes, which go into the general fund after collection, revenue generated by the payroll tax goes directly toward financing Social Security.
Although the president's payroll tax holiday would keep an estimated $265 billion in American pockets, what must not be lost in this discussion is that these dollars will come directly from debt paid back by U.S. taxpayers because they are owed to the Social Security trust fund. [...]
This in turn increases the nation's debt because it eventually leads the Treasury to bail out the lost revenue in the Social Security trust fund.
Translation? This leads to generational theft.
Yes, payroll taxes do fund Social Security, and yes, the fear that this tax cut becoming permanent could undermine Social Security's long-term viability is causing serious heartburn among people who actually do care about keeping Social Security strong. That group does not include Congressional Republicans, like Rep. Jeffrey Landry (R-LA), who thinks middle-class workers should have to choose between having a little more money in their paychecks now, or having a little less in their Social Security checks in the future, allowing workers "to decide each year whether to receive the tax break, which would reduce the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent for employees," and pretty much effectively killing Social Security as we know it.
So whenever you hear a Republican concern trolling over Social Security, know it's not the survival of the program they're talking about. It's the fact that this payroll tax holiday is providing just a little bit of stimulus that has kept this economy limping along. And it's an attempt at a diversionary tactic so people stop talking about their opposition to a miniscule tax increase on the wealthy.
Their only motivations are keeping taxes low for rich people and wrecking the economy further in hopes of defeating President Obama and regaining the Senate next year.