Whether or not President Trump understands the dangerous implications of "terminating payroll taxes," his executive order signed on August 8, 2020 and accompanying remarks should alarm all Americans. The President's exercising unilateral authority (of dubious legality) to cut the payroll taxes which fund Social Security and Medicare proves that opponents of workers' earned benefits have his ear.
Earlier this month, former Federal Reserve nominee and longtime antagonist of Social Security Stephen Moore implored the President to bypass Congress and order the Internal Revenue Service to impose a "payroll tax holiday." That's exactly what the President's executive order does. And that's exactly what many so-called "fiscal hawks" want: a back-door method to destroy Social Security under the guise of a "tax cut."
According to the Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden: "He is putting Social Security at grave risk at a time when seniors are suffering the overwhelming impact of a pandemic he failed to control. Our seniors are under enough stress without Trump putting their hard-earned benefits in doubt."
Simply put, the President's action is a blatant betrayal of his promises "not to touch" Social Security and Medicare. Rescinding workers' payroll contributions — even temporarily — is harmful to social insurance safety net programs, since their funding depends on those taxes.
But the President's pronouncement that if re-elected he would "terminate FICA taxes" is even more chilling. No supporter of Social Security would permanently "terminate" the taxes that it relies on for funding, especially at a time when the program faces financial challenges that require more revenue, not less. Surrounding himself with so-called "entitlement reformers" who want to cut, privatize, and obliterate earned benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare — programs they wrongly refer to as "entitlements" — and then acting on their advice, is a direct attack on senior Americans which will throw millions into poverty if he gets away with it.
While this is perhaps the most serious attack by President Trump yet targeting the retirement and health security of older Americans, it's not the first. In fact, he's submitted three budget proposals that have called for devastating cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And time and again he's tried to overturn and sabotage the Affordable Care Act which would result in higher prescription drug costs and, rolling back free preventive care services for Medicare beneficiaries and forcing millions of others to lose their health care coverage.
So is it any surprise he's towing the line of anti-earned benefit forces by trying to dismantle Social Security and Medicare with the stroke of his pen?
Make no mistake, the National Committee is dedicating significant resources to the fight to invalidate the payroll tax executive order. And with your help we will succeed in protecting the earned benefits of workers and retirees.
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