What Does $40 Mean to You?

President Barack Obama urges voters to keep the pressure on Congress until a payroll tax deal is cut.

Image: Whitehouse via Youtube

House Republicans have signaled they’re now willing to extend the payroll tax cut for workers through the end of this year without demanding that the cost of this temporary break be offset.

“That is good news,” President Barack Obama said today, “but you can’t take anything for granted here in Washington.

“Until you see me sign this thing, you’ve got to keep on speaking up,” the president said, as about a dozen ordinary Americans stood behind him at the White House.

The typical worker will lose about $40 out of every paycheck if this break goes away, the president said. That would make it harder for many Americans to pay their bills, especially as gasoline prices increase. It would also hurt economic recovery.

"The last thing we need is for Washington to stand in the way of America's comeback," he said, channeling the Clint Eastwood of Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” Super Bowl ad.

He urged Americans to “tell us what $40 mean to you.” If you tweet, use the #40dollars hash tag, he said.

Maybe $40 won’t mean as much to workers a year from now. Let’s hope so, or Social Security will really be in trouble. After all, Congress is diverting part of a dedicated source of funding for Social Security -- the payroll tax -- to put more money in Americans’ pockets. It’s providing Social Security with general revenue to make up for this lost funding. But where is it getting this general revenue? By borrowing it, of course.

This game can’t go on forever. Sooner or later, $40 is going to mean more to Social Security than it means for us.