The proposed two-month extension to payroll tax cut may cause critical dangers in Social Security’s funding. Money will be transferred from the government’s pool of revenue to make up for money lost to the tax cut. An estimated $110 billion will be transferred to cover the year’s cut, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees, with $19 billion going to fund the two-month extension.
Lawmakers and public trustees worry that the Social Security program could become politically vulnerable. Charles Blahous, a trustee and research fellow with the Hoover Institution, said, “It’s a grave step for Social Security. It just seems to me the program both financially and politically will be on a lot rockier footing.” By drawing from government revenue instead of support from its own funding, the program becomes more similar to other government initiatives, and subject to the same politics.
