Reinstate the Social Security Payroll Tax 2% reduction that just expired. Working families cannot afford the increase.

Paychecks are shrinking after Congress last week let the tax that funds Social Security benefits revert to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent. The tax stings in other ways, too. In 2013, it applies to only the first $113,700 in wages. A person making $1,000,000 pays $7,049, the same as a person making $10,000,000. In other words, the more you make above the cutoff, the less the payroll tax matters to you in percentage terms. Workers who earn below the cutoff feel the full 6.2 percent bite, making the payroll tax one of the federal code’s more regressive levies. The Social Security Payroll Tax 2% reduction needs to be extended to help working families and an economy that is still weak.