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Social Security Advocates Fear Payroll Tax Cut
Like this Story? Share it: (AP) President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Mr. Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would ge...

Social Security advocates fear payroll tax cut
WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama’s plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program’s finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers’ share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages woul...

Social Security advocates fear payroll tax cut (AP)
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax c...

Payroll tax cut worries Social Security advocates (AP)
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers, but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of Tax Cuts and extended Unemployment Benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax ...

Poll finds broad bipartisan support for tax package
About seven in 10 Americans back the tax deal negotiated last week by President Obama and congressional Republicans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. This Story Tax deal angers right as well as left Poll finds broad Bipartisan support for tax package Washington Post-ABC News poll data In political gamble, Reid seeks votes that are sure to fail Senate having trouble 'doing business in the modern era' View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story The high bipar...

Social Security advocates fear payroll tax cut
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's plan to cut Payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers. But Social Security advocates are nervous that it could jeopardize the Retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a Tax Cut and extended Unemployment Benefits package that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would trim workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax cut; th...

Why Do Deficit Hawks Hate Social Security
Last week, Social Security advocates learned something they had long suspected. Arguments for cutting Social Security aren't really about economics or the Deficit. They're all about waging war on Social Services. In short, some very prominent policymakers are out to dismantle Social Security on ideological grounds. The most recent example of this view comes from Alan Simpson, a former Republican Senator from Wyoming who now serves as co-Chair of President Barack Obama's Federal Debt Commission. ...

Sunday Question for Conservatives
Thinking about Social Security today. A lot of Liberals appear to believe that virtually every proposed change in Social Security benefits or taxation is, in fact, a stealth plot to undermine and eventually eliminate Social Security. This gets me to wondering: what do Conservatives really think about Social Security? What would you want to happen to it if you had your first preference? Let me throw some options out there...one, of course, is fully eliminating it, and returning Retirement (and d...

Brazil gay couples entitled to pension benefits
The Brazilian government says Gay Couples in a stable relationship are entitled to the same Social Security Pension benefits enjoyed by Heterosexual couples. The Social Security Ministry says in a Friday statement that the gay spouse of a Retiree who dies will now be able to receive the Pension payments once received by his or her companion. The policy covers formally registered workers who pay monthly Social Security fees. Same-sex marriages are not recognized in Brazil, but 10 years ago a cour...

Phineas Baxandall: In The Public Interest: Sunshine for Subsidies: Does 2010 Finally Mark the Rise of Public Scrutiny?
Although much has gone wrong during this year's wrangling over state and federal Budget Deficits, 2010 may go down as the year that America finally shined a light into the dark Budget corners where billions are spent on government Subsidies. At the state and federal level, spending on subsidies -- mostly through the tax code -- has outpaced The Economy for decades, partly because they are typically invisible during the Budget process. Most spending on subsidies takes place through the tax code...

NYT editorial: An Insult to Their Memory
Just eight months after the nation was shocked by the death of 29 Coal Miners in the Upper Big Branch explosion in West Virginia, Republicans have once again pandered to industry and blocked passage of an urgently needed Mine Safety reform. In April’s grief — and the anger over revelations of the mine owner’s shoddy safety record — there were grand Bipartisan vows to take action. A very worthy safety measure in the House drew majority support from Democrats but fell short of the tw

Hoyer: Fiscal panel plan should be at center of debate
Citing the possibility of "fiscal turmoil," outgoing House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Monday called for Bipartisan cooperation in the next Congress to tackle Budget Deficits and reform the tax code. "The threat of fiscal turmoil is concrete, not abstract — and it will be felt in the life of every American," he said in  prepared remarks at the National Press Club. "No other issue calls so strongly for leaders who understand the importance of hard choices and hard truths." Hoyer s...

The Trickle-Down Theory of Stimulus
just what we need, more Tax Cuts (photo: Steve Rhodes via Flickr) With the Great Bipartisan Tax Cut Compromise, President Obama has officially adopted the world view of Republicans. 1. No matter what the problem is, Tax Cuts are the solution. 2. Government cannot solve people’s problems. Our current problem is massive Unemployment, so the President and his team of bank-loving economic officials preach that Tax Cuts are stimulus. No matter that Tax Cuts for the rich have a poor payoff in stim...

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Humongous) Calls Republicans A Bunch of Gangsters
Typical class war Rat demagogue… (The Hill) — Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) called Republicans “a bunch of gangsters” who blackmailed Democrats to ensure that the nation’s wealthiest retain their Tax Cuts. Nadler, appearing Sunday morning on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” characterized the Republican stance on the Bipartisan Compromise on extending the Bush-era tax cuts of “nice Middle Class tax cut you have there, pity if something would happen t...

The choice: welfare state or opportunity society
Americans sent a message to Washington in November that they would no longer tolerate a government that grows too large, too fast, while our most urgent concerns go unaddressed. Policy-makers in Washington must put an end to the overreach and start to address the need for sustained Economic Growth, Job Creation and government restraint. Much work needs to be done to tackle our fiscal and economic challenges - but I am optimistic that we can chart a new course. Earlier this year, as the U.S. Ho...

Why didnt Barry just give Clinton the finger?
Anyhow, Barry bails at 9:30. Stay classy, Barry! Stay classy! Then there's this, ZOMG: [CLINTON:] First of all, I feel awkward being here and now you’re gonna leave me all by myself. [CLINTON:] I don't want to make her mad. Please go. You're in good hands. It's nice to see the Big Dog doing the Big Dog thing -- he's so smart, and such a great communicator -- but even Clinton can't buff this turd. It's not a good bill. Selling the plan on the basis of the Unemployment Insurance extension ...

Weekly Address: Protecting the Middle Class and the Economy
President Obama explains the importance of Congress moving forward on the Bipartisan Compromise on Tax Cuts, Unemployment Insurance, and Job Creation. He makes clear that a failure to act would harm the Middle Class, those struggling to find work, and The Economy itself. Paid for by the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC, 20003. This communication is not authorized by any Candidate or candidate's committee. ...

Tax agreement numbers, support by party
Posted at 11:56 AM ET, 12/13/2010 Tax agreement numbers, support by party By Jon Cohen New Washington Post-ABC poll shows broad Bipartisan support for tax agreement, but not necessarily its component parts. The breakdowns are below; full question wording here. All Dem Rep Ind D-R Overall tax package 69 68 75 68 -7 Overall, with args. 62 64 63 61 +1 Elements: Unemployment Benefits 72 88 55 73 +33 Bush-era cuts 54 38 85 49 -47 $5 mil. inheritance 52 52 60 48 -8 Soc. Sec. Payroll 39 37 42 38 -5...

Polls: Broad Majority Back Tax Deal
ABC News/Washington Post survey finds 69% of Americans support the Bipartisan package, while Pew poll shows 60% favor agreement. ABC News/Washington Post survey conducted Dec. 9-12, error margin 3.5 points; Pew survey conducted Dec. 9-12, error margin 4 points. Get The Page delivered to your inbox. newsletter today!...

Liberals' Last Gasp
Two years ago, Liberals saw President Barack Obama as the second coming of FDR. Now they're accusing him of practicing Reaganomics, taunting him at Caucus meetings and trying to get him to renege on his first Bipartisan deal since Republicans won the Midterm Elections....

House Democrats still whining about Obama
House Democrats in particular feel betrayed. From their perspective, they took extraordinarily tough votes in 2009 and 2010 to advance the new president’s sweeping agenda and suffered accordingly in the election. Then he immediately turned around and did business with Republicans before those defeated in November had even vacated their Washington apartments… Adding insult to injury, some Congressional Democrats suggest, the White House was not completely upfront with them about how f...

HOH's One-Minute Recess: All I Want for Christmas Is Bipartisanship
Editorial: Redemption?...

Bloomberg: No Presidential Run in 2012
By Louise Radnofsky New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he isn’t running for president in 2012. Really. Period. Mr. Bloomberg, who dropped his Republican Party Affiliation in 2007 to become an independent, was asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday whether he believed that an independent Candidate could become president. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I’m not going to run for president.” The emphatic denial stands in contrast to the coy ..

Massey CEO Resigns
Don Blankenship, CEO of West Virginia coal giant Massey Energy, is resigning at the end of the month. Blankenship, whose tenure oversaw the worst mining disaster in forty years that left twenty-nine dead, will receive a Golden Parachute, much to the dismay of angry shareholders and critics. The golden parachute provides Blankenship with $2.7 million upon Retirement (and an additional $10 million on July 1, 2011), a free house for life, millions more in deferred compensation, Health Insurance cov...

Congress: Hoyer's call
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the second-ranking Democrat in the House, in a 9:30 am ET Speech at the National Press Club will urge Congress to look beyond Elections, which happen every two years for the House, and take “on the long-term, structural problems that defy quick answers.” He’ll say, according to prepared remarks, “Our politics may run on two-year cycles—but our problems do not. We won’t get to Full Employment in two years. We won’...