SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protestors rally against Social Security cuts on December 10, 2012 in Doral, Florida. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Congress Urged to Reject 'Hostage-Taking' as Trump Threatens to Veto Any Covid-19 Bill That Doesn't Cut Social Security
"Beware of the payroll tax cut! It is just the administration's attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare."
Jul 17, 2020
With President Donald Trump reportedly telling Republican lawmakers in private he will not sign Covid-19 relief legislation that doesn't include a cut to the payroll tax--the primary funding mechanism for Social Security--advocacy groups urged Congress to "call Trump's bluff" and pass a stimulus bill free of any stealth attacks on the New Deal program.
"Cutting Social Security contributions advances a longstanding right-wing ideological goal: Weakening our Social Security system," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said in a statement late Thursday. "Congress must not give into Trump's hostage-taking."
"Payroll contributions are Social Security and Medicare's dedicated funding. A 'payroll tax cut' is a Trojan Horse for cutting earned benefits."
--Social Security Works
"The coronavirus pandemic is raging across America," Altman said. "Essential workers are in desperate need of tests and personal protective equipment (PPE). Millions of Americans are at risk of eviction. Over 57,000 nursing home residents and workers are dead. Hospitals are in danger of becoming overwhelmed. Donald Trump is doing nothing to address any of this."
Trump's veto threat comes days before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is set to kick off formal negotiations with his Democratic counterparts and the White House over the next coronavirus stimulus package. McConnell, whose office is writing the relief bill, has not said whether he supports the inclusion of a payroll tax cut, which Politico characterized as a "new red line from the White House."
White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement Thursday that Trump believes a payroll tax holiday "must be part of any phase four package."
The talks will begin less than a week before the $600-per-week boost in unemployment benefits enacted by previous stimulus legislation is set to expire, causing a rapid and massive fall in income for more than 30 million Americans.
Economists have repeatedly pointed out that cutting the payroll tax--an idea Trump has been obsessed with for months--would do nothing for the unemployed and very little to stimulate the economy, which remains in deep recession. During a press briefing in April, Trump said he "would love to see a payroll tax cut" and added that "there are many people who would like to see it as a permanent tax cut."
"A payroll tax cut would do nothing to help the 20 million workers who have lost their jobs, and little for those working significantly reduced hours," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told the Washington Post. "Another payroll tax cut for employers would also shower the country's wealthiest corporations with billions of dollars."
As the Post reported Thursday, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democrats have repeatedly voiced opposition to a payroll tax cut."
"If included in McConnell's bill, or demanded by the White House, it would become just one more point of contention between the two parties," the Post noted. "Democrats and Republicans are already at odds over multiple issues, including liability protections for businesses and others that McConnell says must be in the bill; enhanced unemployment insurance that is expiring in late July; whether to send more aid to cities and states; and how much funding for education to include and whether to tie it to schools reopening."
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, warned Congress against caving to the Trump administration's demand for a payroll tax holiday.
"Beware of the payroll tax cut!" Larson tweeted. "It is just the administration's attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With President Donald Trump reportedly telling Republican lawmakers in private he will not sign Covid-19 relief legislation that doesn't include a cut to the payroll tax--the primary funding mechanism for Social Security--advocacy groups urged Congress to "call Trump's bluff" and pass a stimulus bill free of any stealth attacks on the New Deal program.
"Cutting Social Security contributions advances a longstanding right-wing ideological goal: Weakening our Social Security system," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said in a statement late Thursday. "Congress must not give into Trump's hostage-taking."
"Payroll contributions are Social Security and Medicare's dedicated funding. A 'payroll tax cut' is a Trojan Horse for cutting earned benefits."
--Social Security Works
"The coronavirus pandemic is raging across America," Altman said. "Essential workers are in desperate need of tests and personal protective equipment (PPE). Millions of Americans are at risk of eviction. Over 57,000 nursing home residents and workers are dead. Hospitals are in danger of becoming overwhelmed. Donald Trump is doing nothing to address any of this."
Trump's veto threat comes days before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is set to kick off formal negotiations with his Democratic counterparts and the White House over the next coronavirus stimulus package. McConnell, whose office is writing the relief bill, has not said whether he supports the inclusion of a payroll tax cut, which Politico characterized as a "new red line from the White House."
White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement Thursday that Trump believes a payroll tax holiday "must be part of any phase four package."
The talks will begin less than a week before the $600-per-week boost in unemployment benefits enacted by previous stimulus legislation is set to expire, causing a rapid and massive fall in income for more than 30 million Americans.
Economists have repeatedly pointed out that cutting the payroll tax--an idea Trump has been obsessed with for months--would do nothing for the unemployed and very little to stimulate the economy, which remains in deep recession. During a press briefing in April, Trump said he "would love to see a payroll tax cut" and added that "there are many people who would like to see it as a permanent tax cut."
"A payroll tax cut would do nothing to help the 20 million workers who have lost their jobs, and little for those working significantly reduced hours," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told the Washington Post. "Another payroll tax cut for employers would also shower the country's wealthiest corporations with billions of dollars."
As the Post reported Thursday, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democrats have repeatedly voiced opposition to a payroll tax cut."
"If included in McConnell's bill, or demanded by the White House, it would become just one more point of contention between the two parties," the Post noted. "Democrats and Republicans are already at odds over multiple issues, including liability protections for businesses and others that McConnell says must be in the bill; enhanced unemployment insurance that is expiring in late July; whether to send more aid to cities and states; and how much funding for education to include and whether to tie it to schools reopening."
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, warned Congress against caving to the Trump administration's demand for a payroll tax holiday.
"Beware of the payroll tax cut!" Larson tweeted. "It is just the administration's attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare."
With President Donald Trump reportedly telling Republican lawmakers in private he will not sign Covid-19 relief legislation that doesn't include a cut to the payroll tax--the primary funding mechanism for Social Security--advocacy groups urged Congress to "call Trump's bluff" and pass a stimulus bill free of any stealth attacks on the New Deal program.
"Cutting Social Security contributions advances a longstanding right-wing ideological goal: Weakening our Social Security system," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said in a statement late Thursday. "Congress must not give into Trump's hostage-taking."
"Payroll contributions are Social Security and Medicare's dedicated funding. A 'payroll tax cut' is a Trojan Horse for cutting earned benefits."
--Social Security Works
"The coronavirus pandemic is raging across America," Altman said. "Essential workers are in desperate need of tests and personal protective equipment (PPE). Millions of Americans are at risk of eviction. Over 57,000 nursing home residents and workers are dead. Hospitals are in danger of becoming overwhelmed. Donald Trump is doing nothing to address any of this."
Trump's veto threat comes days before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is set to kick off formal negotiations with his Democratic counterparts and the White House over the next coronavirus stimulus package. McConnell, whose office is writing the relief bill, has not said whether he supports the inclusion of a payroll tax cut, which Politico characterized as a "new red line from the White House."
White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement Thursday that Trump believes a payroll tax holiday "must be part of any phase four package."
The talks will begin less than a week before the $600-per-week boost in unemployment benefits enacted by previous stimulus legislation is set to expire, causing a rapid and massive fall in income for more than 30 million Americans.
Economists have repeatedly pointed out that cutting the payroll tax--an idea Trump has been obsessed with for months--would do nothing for the unemployed and very little to stimulate the economy, which remains in deep recession. During a press briefing in April, Trump said he "would love to see a payroll tax cut" and added that "there are many people who would like to see it as a permanent tax cut."
"A payroll tax cut would do nothing to help the 20 million workers who have lost their jobs, and little for those working significantly reduced hours," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told the Washington Post. "Another payroll tax cut for employers would also shower the country's wealthiest corporations with billions of dollars."
As the Post reported Thursday, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democrats have repeatedly voiced opposition to a payroll tax cut."
"If included in McConnell's bill, or demanded by the White House, it would become just one more point of contention between the two parties," the Post noted. "Democrats and Republicans are already at odds over multiple issues, including liability protections for businesses and others that McConnell says must be in the bill; enhanced unemployment insurance that is expiring in late July; whether to send more aid to cities and states; and how much funding for education to include and whether to tie it to schools reopening."
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, warned Congress against caving to the Trump administration's demand for a payroll tax holiday.
"Beware of the payroll tax cut!" Larson tweeted. "It is just the administration's attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.