Now that you have lowered my take home pay, will you please shred the safety net.

[European Socialist]

I am not against the fiscal cliff deal, but won't most people see it this way.

[TRJuan]

1. damn republicans

will try to spin it that way. They already refused to compromise just to protect their millionaire buddies.

[fadedrose]

13. Welcome - you're here in time for the next emergency..

debt ceiling - and you get to enjoy the inauguration and State of the Union Speech here in DU with us....

When I get nervous about something big happening, I hang around DU a lot for company. You will, too.

[sadbear]

2. Did you not realize that the payroll tax holiday was a holiday?

I do think that if they cut off the tax hikes at $400K, they should move the SS cap to $400K.

[doc03]

5. I agree with that n/t

[nilram]

20. and, sigh, it was fun while it lasted...

[Blue_In_AK]

3. When they first instituted the payroll tax holiday

I knew this argument would come up. I'm glad it's ending before people get completely used to it.

[theglammistress]

17. My sentiments exactly.

[Neon2012]

4. I think people will see it as an

Obama tax hike on the middle class.

[doc03]

7. Boy you are sure pushing that meme aren't you, that's

twice now I have seen that from you so far today.

Temporary: lasting or used for a limited time only; not permanent.

[Neon2012]

15. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[davidn3600]

27. Most people dont pay attention to that

They get their next paycheck and see their pay go down, they will first blame their boss thinking he messed up. Then they will blame the government.

[RobinA]

39. Unfortunately, You Are Right

I spent New Year's Eve with people who see it as just that. Taxes would be hiked. When I suggested that it was simply a return to a tax rate we had been paying before an emergancy tax cut I was met with shrugs. Contrast the that indifference to facts with the protestations of an impending tax hike led by Obama and you get the view of all too many. When these people see the word "tax" and "increase" in the same sentence they don't need to look any further than the "socialist" in the White House.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. I don't think people really will. Most understand the words ' temporary stimulus' & 'holiday'

The Republicans are sure busy trying to spin it that way though. Which is funny considering how they carried on a year ago over it when it was up for an extension. They're such hypocrites.

[TheKentuckian]

35. No they don't. It was a terrible idea. The benefit went largely unnoticed.

But take it away and wait for the wailing.

I'm glad it is over, that is putting toothpaste back into the tube in anti-tax America.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

37. My own family who aren't political didn't notice when it happened.

Now I'm supposed to believe they're going to be outraged? I'm just not inclined to buy that bill of goods. There's quite a few Republicans trying to feed that meme, sure. That doesn't make it true. Other than some Republicans regurgitating the meme they're being fed, it's not a big deal. No one will remember this by 2014 when the elections come back around. This is nothing but some manufactured political noise.

I'm also glad it's over. Social Security should be independently funded without any attachments to the debt. It was a horrible idea from its inception.

[TheKentuckian]

44. They'll notice. The media will remind them, the email chains will go around, somebody at work will

point it out, hate radio will scream.

The cut got no promotion because no one had the least interest in making sure the public knew it's taxes had been cut, the reverse is plain not true.

Be honest, how many times did you hear over the last four years folks complaining about their taxes when they had went nowhere but down? Imagine how that multiplies with a grain of truth.

Dumb politics, real dumb.

2014 is a ways off so that is good but it does just feed back into the narrative already in progress without justification.

[doc03]

8. Cut back one or two Starbucks coffees a week n/t

[Skip Intro]

9. The bottom line for any working person is take home pay.

When they see it is less than what it was last year, yeah, they're not going to be happy.

[doc03]

10. So, now we are funding SS again instead of borrowing the

money from future generations. Shouldn't have done it in the first place.

[Skip Intro]

11. .

misread your post

people are going to be pissed with less take home pay, that's for sure

[doc03]

18. So what do you want to do? Continue funding SS with borrowed money?

I assume you were all for doing away with the (temporary) Bush tax cuts.
But you seem to have a problem with doing away with the (temporary) Obama payroll tax cut.

[Skip Intro]

19. Again, my point is people will be pissed about less take home pay.

And reading that large bankers benefit from the deal won't help ease that anger.

[doc03]

23. I'm sure you aren't going to let anyone forget it either. How are the bankers

benefiting from the deal?

[Skip Intro]

24. Now we go from the subject at hand to personal attacks?

I really don't have time for this kind of silliness tonight.

If you truly think you can say some magic words on an internet discussion board that will make people okay with taking home less money this year than they did last, then knock yourself out.

[doc03]

25. If you don't want to pay your share into SS don't bitch when

it is cut. I worked 46 years and paid 100% of my payroll tax for 46 years. I retired in 2009 now you think you should get a break in your payroll taxes. I didn't think the payroll taxes should have been cut in the first place. I knew this is exactly what would happen, when it expired people would start bellyaching about it. Retire and depend on your SS and then tell us about taking home less money.

[SammyWinstonJack]

34. Was a stupid idea to begin with. Glad it's done.

[HiPointDem]

31. people will be pissed if social security is cut, too.

[Freddie]

14. Correct--should have never been done that way

Should have extended the Making Work Pay credit instead. Already the Repugs are out in force telling everyone how Obama raised their taxes. Since their next paycheck will be smaller (and they won't bother to look and see why) they will all agree.

[European Socialist]

16. I agree. And the Democrats better be junkyard dogs guarding the safety net if they want to survive

the 2014 elections.

[LiberalFighter]

21. The way I was seeing it was I and everyone that pays taxes

even retirees were paying that from their pension income.

[abelenkpe]

36. Heard that from several people today at work

Basically they are griping about possibly having less per paycheck. I should add these are democrats. Anyone who thinks people won't be upset about that is deluding themselves.

[CTyankee]

41. well, it's up to us dems to point out to them that this is how we pay for SS which

they will share in. It is not a tax that only benefits "the few" or "the wealthy" or even just the poor. It is a shared cost by a society that deems it prudent and humane to have an old age insurance program for its elderly.

[Johonny]

12. heard ppl complaining about it all day- never heard one compliment Obama FOR IT though

Conservatives think it is a sneaky back door tax hike. Of course these same ppl not once during the election cycle thanked Obama for the temporary lowering of their taxes. If they aren't going to like you, you might as well do the thing you believe in and fund social security.

[doc03]

22. I don't get it, we have Democrats that want to borrow money

to pay their 2% share of the payroll tax. Then in the next breath will raise hell when the Republicans say we need entitlement reform to cut the deficit.
Temporary: Lasting or used for a limited time only; not permanent.

[Ed Suspicious]

26. right but when you make $1200 per month you get pretty comfortable with that "extra $25 a month.

That's the better part of a tank of gas or trip to the thrift shop for some new clothes or who knows what. It's almost more cruel to giveth then taketh away. Some people aren't headed to Starbucks a couple times a week. Some people are just living on it. It was way stupid to stimulate this way. I love SS but it's structured in a really regressive way as far as how we pay in. Poor people have to live check to check. Saving for the future is super secondary when the current needs are urgent.

[Ed Suspicious]

29. Sage advice. Thanks for your input. I'll pass it along to my mom. It's not my situation. n/t

[Ed Suspicious]

30. You know that is a very dickish thing to say. Just thought I'd stop with the passive agressive

and come right out with it.

[HiPointDem]

32. suspicious indeed.

[Ed Suspicious]

33. whatever. leave me alone.

[Macoy51]

38. Bad Idea to Begain With

I feel the SS holiday was a bad idea to began with. It is just human nature to overlook the temporary nature of the tax break and go ballistic when your taxes “go up”.


Personally, I would rather pay an extra $120/month to fully fund Social Security than risk it not being there for me; however, several of my co-workers are very upset with the “tax increase” and don’t seem to care that the tax cut was always suppose to be temporary.



Macoy

[RobinA]

40. This Is My Experience

Asking people to remember that these things were temporary a couple years ago is not going to wash in this world of forgetting the last crisis a week after it happens. It was a terrible idea.

[CTyankee]

42. the statement was rude but there is a very good point to be made

in a rational conversation that since the tax funds Social Security, a program that we as a society has decided is a GOOD thing and serves all the people, it benefits us all in the long run. That is very different from tax breaks for the wealthy and not for the rest of us.

While we're at it, we could raise the SS cap to insure that our SS will be preserved.

[daa]

43. Wait 2 months, it's coming. Nt