Disgusting.
Alan Krueger, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, denies there is any danger to the system. He told reporters in a Nov. 29 briefing, “I don’t think this jeopardizes the Social Security trust fund or the solvency of Social Security. The trust fund is made whole by general revenues.” And he said Obama has proposed a way to fully pay for his tax-cut plan.
Senator Dick Durbin, the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, also rejected the complaints. He said the government has been borrowing surplus Social Security revenue to pay for other programs, and promising to repay it later with other tax revenue, so the money has already been mixed.
“This is not the first time,” he said. Durbin, of Illinois, said he hoped the tax cut would be allowed to lapse next year though he said he couldn’t rule out another extension.
It’s that uncertainty that concerns some lawmakers.
“We shouldn’t let the federal government undermine Social Security by convincing Americans that they don’t really have to pay for it,” said Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat. “If we extend the cuts this year, what about the next year and the year after? When does it stop?”
via Tax Cuts Seen Undermining Social Security.
