Dem's tax the rich plan would only pay for 8% of SS tax holiday

To the editor,

The current battle over extending the payroll tax holiday has both parties agreeing to it but neither one is paying for it. It is stimulus.

The payroll tax is the Social Security tax that comes out of everyone's pay check.

The current holiday allows employees to keep 2 of the 6.2-percent that is deducted from the first $106,000 of income. The estimated cost for another year is $265-billion.

According to Powerline, the Democrats plan to tax the rich to pay for it raises a paltry $21.4-billion.

The Republicans want Federal workers to pay for it with a two year pay freeze. Remind me not to get a Federal job! It raises only $60-billion over 10 years.

With 10,000 baby boomers retiring a day, this tax holiday is not only something we can't afford but it is already being called a tax increase if people have to pay it again.

It also raises another issue. If people are not paying it into their Social Security account is the retirement age being extended by fiat.

According to some economists the tax holiday increases spending and that will help the recovery. But with the increase in Social Security recipients and the loss of revenue can we afford it on top of everything else we are not paying for? After all we still have the $15 trillion that the president and Congress still haven't addressed. Remember the Super Committee failure.

James Edgar

Meredith