As Congress and the White House focus on crafting another rescue measure for Americans struggling with the coronavirus, the most important question may be:
Can’t someone find a way to distract President Trump from his stupid obsession with a payroll tax cut?
We’ve explained before why a payroll tax cut is always an absurd and harmful idea, never more so than in the current crisis.
It would undermine the finances of Social Security and Medicare while failing to deliver succor to the Americans who need it most.
By pushing to cut off the program’s funding stream, President Trump is taking the first step toward dismantling Social Security.
Max Richtman, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Trump hasn’t been too specific about the cut he demands, but even with a partial reduction in the payroll tax the poorest Americans would receive a few percent of the benefits, and the richest 20% would pocket half to two-thirds of the gains.
Trump has been fixed on this idea virtually since the start of his Presidential term. Occasionally he has toyed with the idea of eliminating the payroll tax entirely, which would pile stupidity upon stupidity. Never has he offered a thoughtful, logical rationale for cutting the tax wholly or in part.
That’s true of his reported stance in the latest round of talks about a financial rescue for Americans. Trump has signaled that he won’t sign a rescue bill without a payroll tax cut.
Arthur Julien
Article URL : https://www.yahoo.com/news/column-trump-social-security-drop-172109994.html