Question to Americans about the GOP

[alfred russel]

I thought he ran on going back to the pre Bush tax cut rates which were just under 40%, and google searches seem to confirm this. Could the 44.5% somehow relate to eliminating the cap for social security taxes?

Could be. 

To clarify, are you talking about the additional Medicare tax on filthy rich billionares to help finance Obamacare, or some new proposal?

During the campaign Obama mentioned possibly eliminating the cap on SS taxes, so some republicans added these taxes to the top marginal rate that would be paid by rich people.

[Admiral Yi]

During the campaign Obama mentioned possibly eliminating the cap on SS taxes, so some republicans added these taxes to the top marginal rate that would be paid by rich people.

I have a suspicion this might be something else then.  The article I read was written in the wake of Obama's counterproposal to the Ryan plan, and it would have been in either Time or the NYT, neither exactly bastions of Teabagger agitprop.

[Scipio]

Shifting the SS tax burden would be helpful first in reducing the burden on the poorest employees and the employers of least-skilled labor, and also by putting the top earners subject to it.  Then, we means-test Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well.

[Eddie Teach]

Slargos tells me they will soon be the Somalian parts.  I look forward to the pirates infesting the Baltic Sea.

The Scandinavians used to be so good at that, too.

[alfred russel]

Shifting the SS tax burden would be helpful first in reducing the burden on the poorest employees and the employers of least-skilled labor, and also by putting the top earners subject to it.  Then, we means-test Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well.

That would effectively make social security a welfare program that includes the middle class and payroll taxes a flat income tax.

[alfred russel]

During the campaign Obama mentioned possibly eliminating the cap on SS taxes, so some republicans added these taxes to the top marginal rate that would be paid by rich people.

I have a suspicion this might be something else then.  The article I read was written in the wake of Obama's counterproposal to the Ryan plan, and it would have been in either Time or the NYT, neither exactly bastions of Teabagger agitprop.

Is there a chance you might know where to find the article? I would be interested in what the proposal was.

For the purpose of responding to Martim, the point still holds that both the Republicans and Democrats are broadly in favor of the status quo regarding tax rates, with each wanting relatively minor changes to policy (in the grand scheme of things).

[Scipio]

Shifting the SS tax burden would be helpful first in reducing the burden on the poorest employees and the employers of least-skilled labor, and also by putting the top earners subject to it.  Then, we means-test Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well.

That would effectively make social security a welfare program that includes the middle class and payroll taxes a flat income tax.

Only slightly less bad than what we have now, granted.

[MadImmortalMan]

Meh. Despite what we like to tell ourselves, SSA has always been a welfare program. So no gnashing of teeth from me.

[Admiral Yi]

Is there a chance you might know where to find the article?

I can't narrow it down any more than I already have.  Wait--in addition to Time and the NYT it could have been the FT.

[derspiess]

Shifting the SS tax burden would be helpful first in reducing the burden on the poorest employees and the employers of least-skilled labor, and also by putting the top earners subject to it.  Then, we means-test Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well.

Who are you & what did you do with Scippy?   

[Valmy]

Shifting the SS tax burden would be helpful first in reducing the burden on the poorest employees and the employers of least-skilled labor, and also by putting the top earners subject to it.  Then, we means-test Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well.

Who are you & what did you do with Scippy?  

You gotta plan to reform Social Security and Medicare?

[DGuller]

Shifting the SS tax burden would be helpful first in reducing the burden on the poorest employees and the employers of least-skilled labor, and also by putting the top earners subject to it.  Then, we means-test Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well.

Who are you & what did you do with Scippy?   

Lawyers who let their dogs eat their clients tend to be more concerned about being provided for when they get old.

[Ideologue]

To answer Martim, the United States is a little different from Europe electorally.

For example, we don't have fascist parties that get 20%+ of the vote.  We don't have communist and "Trotskyite" parties that get 20%+ of the vote.  We don't have "Green" parties that advocate dismantling large swaths of modern industrial infrastructure.  We don't have viable national parties that just represent a single ethnic group (Scots, Flemish, Basques, etc).  We don't have parties that are just wings of large Italian media companies, and we don't have parties that have platforms items like confiscating private pensions and eliminating freedom of the press.

Once all those commonplaces of European political life are removed, there isn't a lot of places for some of our confused or eccentric citizens to go.  So some clever people invented the GOP, which channels those people into mostly harmless sorts of things like tax cuts for dead rich people, prayers at high school football games, and protecting the legal status of gun shows.  It's not ideal, but it would be a lot worse, as European politics always helpfully reminds us.

Perfection.