Lift the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap

Republicans such as Paul Ryan have advocated over either cutting Society Security or raising the retirement age. In Washington, people like to portray themselves as courageous by cutting benefits from the country's most needy. Rep. Ted Deutch has the easiest solution that both parties from Congress run from. Eliminate the $113,700-a-year cap on Social Security payroll taxes.

A bill by Deutch has a sponsor in the Senate; thanks to Sen. Mark Begich. Deutch'sbill has unsurprisingly gotten no traction in the House.

The bills also would increase cost-of-living raises by basing them on the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index-Elderly, or CPI-E. The “elderly” index, they say, better reflects how seniors and the disabled spend their money on medical care, prescription drugs, housing and energy. Some of those costs go up faster than the official inflation rate.

Republicans are attempting to lower the cost-of-living raises. That would mean smaller Social Security payments seniors.

Begich took to the floor of the Senate to talk about lifting the cap.

“This bill isn’t just about providing our seniors the security they need and deserve, it’s about common-sense fiscal planning,” Begich said. “By creating a more fair and balanced system, we can increase benefits to our seniors, extend the solvency of the program, and give so many Alaskans peace of mind for their future.”

Begich's and Deutch's bill makes perfect sense. Which is exactly why the Beltway will hate it.

Bob Buckhorn Honored by NewDEAL

Congratulations to Mayor Bob Buckhorn. The mayor was selected as the ten rising stars of the NewDEAL.

“Senator Begich and I have joined the NewDEAL because we believe we need to look for fresh ideas not just from the top down in Washington, but also from the bottom up, where innovative leaders like Mayor Buckhorn are developing and testing their ideas out on the ground,” said Governor O’Malley, Honorary Co-Chair of the NewDEAL.

“In communities throughout the country, rising state and local leaders such as Mayor Buckhorn are proving that you can be both pro-growth and progressive. The NewDEAL is designed to foster these types of ideas and these types of leaders,” said Senator Begich, Honorary Co-Chair of the NewDEAL.

“I am proud to be recognized by the NewDEAL for my focus on improving our economic competitiveness so the world knows that Tampa is open for business,” said Mayor Buckhorn.

I gave a generally good review to Buckhorn's economic plan. Buckhorn has thought about job creation.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) wrote about why they started NewDEAL.

That’s why we have joined with the NewDEAL, a newly launched national network searching the country for pro-growth progressive state and local elected leaders in order to help them share their innovative ideas to win the future.

We believe that in order to build the vision of progressive growth that the President has laid out, we need to look for fresh ideas not just from the top-down in Washington DC, but also from the bottom up, where local leaders are developing and testing their ideas out on the ground.

Finding the best pro-growth progressive ideas is especially important now, as we make tough choices to jumpstart our economy. But make no mistake: to win the future, we can no longer afford to choose between growing the pie and making sure everyone gets a decent slice.

Unfortunately, job creation is being stopped at every turn by Republicans. Obama political adviser David Plouffe said that the unemployment rate and GDP growth are not an election issues.

“The average American does not view the economy through the prism of GDP or unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers,” Plouffe said. “People won’t vote based on the unemployment rate, they’re going to vote based on: ‘How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?’”

Leaders such as O'Malley, Begich and Buckhorn have to counter the economic stupidity of Republicans and their own Democratic president to create jobs. At least they are trying. That is more than can be said for the elected leadership in the Beltway.