http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/01/04/t...al-policy/
Lobbyists for the 1% frame the fiscal question in terms of “How can we make the 99% pay for their own social programs?†The implicit follow-up is, “so that we (the 1%) don’t have to pay?†This is how the Social Security system came to be “funded†and then “underfunded.†The most regressive tax of all is the FICA payroll tax at 15.3% of wages up to about $105,000. Above that, the rich don’t have to contribute. This payroll tax exceeds the income tax paid by many blue-collar families. The pretense is that not taxing these free lunchers will make economies more competitive and pull them out of depression. The reality is the opposite: Instead of taxing the wealthy on their free lunch, the tax burden raises the cost of living and doing business. This is a major reason why the U.S. economy is being de-industrialized today.
Lobbyists for the 1% frame the fiscal question in terms of “How can we make the 99% pay for their own social programs?†The implicit follow-up is, “so that we (the 1%) don’t have to pay?†This is how the Social Security system came to be “funded†and then “underfunded.†The most regressive tax of all is the FICA payroll tax at 15.3% of wages up to about $105,000. Above that, the rich don’t have to contribute. This payroll tax exceeds the income tax paid by many blue-collar families. The pretense is that not taxing these free lunchers will make economies more competitive and pull them out of depression. The reality is the opposite: Instead of taxing the wealthy on their free lunch, the tax burden raises the cost of living and doing business. This is a major reason why the U.S. economy is being de-industrialized today.