What pjr and Jim Z said. Jared doesn’t seem to get it. Social Security needs political ammunition against the relentless and permanent assault from the right wing. The legal separation of the Trust Fund from the general fund — Social Security revenues and Trust Fund holdings and earnings not usable for anything except Social Security benefits, no use of general funds for Social Security — has been an important point for that support. It’s the basis for being able to say that Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. Now the defense must be qualified by, “Well, except that right now. . . .” It is not going to be politically easy to restore the proper funding (“tax increases”) without some substitute cuts that Republicans will not allow. Besides, it is not a particularly progressive form of tax cut.
In any case, the defenders (who prefer the euphemism “payroll tax holiday”) have not addressed the concerns of those opposed to or concerned about this form of tax cut. That the general fund is making up the difference is the problem, not an answer.
