By Rebekah Rast — $10 to $40 versus $91 billion.
That is what is up for debate in Congress. Does the payroll tax cut extension, giving people an extra $10 to $20, maybe $40, in their paychecks worth it, all the while knowing this small tax break will continue to bankrupt an already insolvent Social Security program by another projected $91 billion in 2012?
At this point it seems Congress has reached quite a stalemate, which leads people to believe that the tax will not be extended. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a plan that would extend this tax break for another year. The Senate changed it and passed a plan that only extends the tax break for two months. The Senate is now on vacation and doesn’t see the need to return to Washington to work with the House to come to a consensus.
Meanwhile, the White House is now touting sob stories from folks who will have to cancel their Friday night pizza meals if the House and Senate don’t reach an agreement—actually if the House doesn’t just agree to the Senate’s package. The art of compromise has already been taken off the table thanks to Harry Reid.
President Obama is so serious about this matter the White House has launched a new website: What does $40 mean to you, where people can share how a tax increase, even if it’s at the most $40, impacts them.
If you’d like to participate you can fill out a form on this website or follow a Twitter posting with #40dollars.
A quick search of these Tweets provided the following:
For #40dollars I could buy Just Dance 3 for the Wii.
The amount of money SEIU pays an OWS Terrorist per day #40dollars
#40dollars allows me to drive my sons to a better school district for a higher quality education & environment
#40dollars makes Social Security go bankrupt that much sooner
#40dollars goes a long ways at Trader Joes
Sure, no one would willingly turn down $40, but is it worth jeopardizing America’s future? Until entitlement reform is addressed, extending this tax break will only hurt future generations. Would you rather more money now, or when you retire?
But putting the country’s future aside, Americans have a right to know what is going to happen with their paychecks come New Year’s Day. Time to come back from vacation, Harry Reid.
Rebekah Rast is a contributing editor to Americans for Limited Government (ALG) and NetRightDaily.com. You can follow her on twitter at @RebekahRast.
