TRUMP'S EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON CORONA BENEFITS MAY BACKFIRE ON THE PRESIDENT

Trump's payroll tax holiday will cut into Social Security funding

By Howie Katz

Because Congress has failed to enact a new coronavirus relief package, President Trump on Saturday issued four executive orders extending the expired unemployment benefits and creating a payroll tax holiday from September 1 to December 31. 

Extending the unemployment benefits was a good act, even though the payments will be $200 dollars less than the $600 payments that had expired.   But the payroll tax funds Social Security and Medicare, the funds for which are already in dire straits.

Joe 'White Obama' Biden did not wait a NY minute before pouncing on the payroll tax holiday.  "Donald Trump's first shot in a new, reckless war on Social Security," said the White Obama in a statement.  "He is laying out his roadmap to cutting Social Security.  Our seniors and millions of Americans with disabilities are under enough stress without Trump putting their hard-earned Social Security benefits in doubt."

A press conference Trump held about his executive orders did not help him either.  CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid asked Trump "Why do you keep saying that you passed Veterans Choice?"  When Trump tried to call on another reporter, Reid continued, "You said that you passed Veterans Choice. It was passed in 2014...it was a false statement, sir."  That pissed off the President and he abruptly ended the press conference.

The problem was that Trump misspoke.  He should have said he passed the VA Mission Act which replaced and improved the Veterans Choice Act.  That gave Reid the opportunity to deliberately embarrass the President.