The payroll "tax" is not really a tax...

[W_HAMILTON]

20. The president may mention it...

...and the Republicans won't give a damn. The Republicans have been wanting to privatize Social Security, voucherize Medicare, and/or cut both programs for years now, well before the "temporary" payroll tax cut went into place. The president can say that by allowing the payroll tax cut to expire that SS is just dandy and nothing needs to be done to it, but that won't stop the Republicans from doing their best to "reform" it just as they always have been doing.

Instead of simply "mentioning" the payroll tax cut expiring in future negotiations about Social Security, there should have been a concrete agreement that Social Security would not be touched for however long. Instead, the payroll tax goes back into effect, it affects almost every low and middle class worker, and the worst part is that THERE IS STILL NO GUARANTEE THAT SOCIAL SECURITY / MEDICARE WON'T BE CUT.