Medicare Taxes to fund Interest Rate Cut Extension

At least, this is the proposal by the Senate Democrats on how to pay the cost of extending the interest rate cut enacted on student loans. They want to increase the amount of money raised by Medicare taxes, which already have no ceiling on income, and use that money not to pay for providing health care to our elderly population, but to pay for keeping the interest rate low on student loans.

Are there any "progressives" out there who wish to chime in about the income and privilege taxes levied to fund Social Security and Medicare not being the same as any other tax levied, collected and appropriated by Congress at this point? Anyone out there still wanting to call me a liar when I say this? Anyone who still believes that Congress has to spend the money collected from those taxes on the social welfare programs that the taxes are supposed to fund? Still think you are legally entitled to a federal pension because you paid your Social Security Taxes and to have the government pay for your health care after you turn 65 with the money that you paid in Medicare Taxes?

Your Social Security and Medicare tax money can be spent however Congress decides to spend it, the Democrats in the Senate and President Obama just proved that with this proposal. The Democrats have just shown that they are willing to spend money raised to provide medical care for our elderly to buy the votes of those who are enrolled in college. Still think the taxes to fund Social Security will be reserved for that purpose if the income ceiling is removed so that the rich pay more? You are a fool if you do.

Crickets or deflections coming soon.

This should be a tv ad for the GOP, all they have to do is state the facts.

Kind of a catch 22 isn't it.....the goal for the democrats, and now a few Republicans including Mitt Romney is to extend the student loan interest rate as it is and not double it. The goal of the Republicans is to stop any new income tax revenue from being collected and to make sure anything that costs money must be paid for. I think the Democrats here are posturing.....giving the Republicans a dilemma to deal with.....how do they do what their constituents and their presidential nominee want, without adding to the deficit, and without raising any new revenue? The bill as proposed is particularly odious to Republicans because it targets small business owners making over $250k.....but in an election year they cannot look like they are sticking it to college students by doubling their student loan interest.....oh my, what to do, what to do.

So taking money from our ill, elderly, population to subsidize the young & able bodied pursuing their Masters in Pottery, Anthropology and Partying?

Sounds like it should be a Republican scheme.

My vote would be an honest and frank discussion with supposed adults attending college as to why it isn't possible, or permissible, to pay for their interest reduction with money stolen from the funds needed to pay for the health care of their grandmothers and grandfathers. Explain to them that it's kind of like taking money set aside to pay for tuition and books for college and then using that money to pay for a party - what the money ends up being used for isn't exactly what anyone had in mind when the money was set aside to pay for college - and that everyone would probably have been better off if the money was used for what it was originally intended to pay for than a temporary binge on something that makes everyone feel good for a short period of time that makes it necessary to take out a student loan to fund the original purpose of the money that was spent for the party.

FredHayek wrote: So taking money from our ill, elderly, population to subsidize the young & able bodied pursuing their Masters in Pottery, Anthropology and Partying?

Sounds like it should be a Republican scheme.

I don't agree with the funding idea......but how can you call it taking money from the ill and elderly when it isn't money that they have? That's a democrat's argument, kinda fun to see a conservative use it. Proving, I think, that a conservative will twist any argument to bash democrats, even one they would normally embrace. Why? just because they can I guess.

archer wrote: I don't agree with the funding idea......

Neither will the electorate once they understand the Democrats wanting to raise taxes on Medicare to pay for something other than Medicare, including the college students who want to see the interest rates on their loans stay low. Obama and the Democrats in the Senate, not to mention their co-conspirators in the mass media, are trying their best to gloss over that particular aspect of it and concentrate instead on beating the class warfare drum a little louder and continue to talk up taxing those evil rich folks to get them to pay their "fair share" of keeping the federal budget bloated.

One more example why pay-as-you-go funding rules will continue to be ignored. It is much easier for the a politician to promise more money to one group when he doesn't have to cut funding someplace else or raise any taxes

15 trillion and counting...

Of course once again this GOP talking point is bogus. The plan is to close a special interest loophole that allowed certain wealthy individuals to avoid paying the medicare payroll taxes that most middle income workers and business owners are required to pay. No student or "electorate" will have their medicare payroll taxes raised. This loophole is commonly called the "John Edwards" loophole as he and other wealthy individuals used it in order to avoid paying payroll taxes on their earnings.

And will the resulting funds from closing that loophole in the earnings subjected to Medicare tax be used to fund Medicare Dog? No, those funds will be appropriated by the Democrats to be spent on something other than Medicare. Which means that contrary to the lies that the electorate is continually told that Medicare Taxes and Social Security Taxes will never be used for anything other than to pay for those programs, it is now apparent to everyone that those taxes can be used to purchase votes from any special interest group chosen by the current cabal sitting in Congress.

Care to address the point being made Dog? That the Democrats and the President are wanting to appropriate funds from Medicare and use them for other purposes?