By the time you read this, President Donald Trump’s latest economic stimulus plan may be largely forgotten. But it has revived an unpleasant idea that the right fringe has been peddling for years: killing Social Security and Medicare.
We speak of an executive order that would cut payroll taxes. Payroll taxes fund virtually all of Social Security and much of Medicare. Without this money, Americans would have neither.
Oh, but Trump says these taxes wouldn’t exactly be cut. Rather, they’d be “deferred” through Dec. 31 for workers making less than $100,000. Workers would be on the hook for the taxes at some later date.
Can you imagine slapping low- and middle-income workers with a bill for the back taxes? Neither can I. Continue reading.