ATTACKING THEIR BASE:

State sees burden in Bush funding idea: President mulls tax on public workers (Michael Kranish, March 7, 2005, Boston Globe)

President Bush is considering a controversial new source of revenue to help fix Social Security: shutting off the exemption from Social Security taxes of future state and local public employees who otherwise would be contributing to public pension plans.

For Massachusetts, where more than 300,000 public workers are exempt from the Social Security tax, the change could end up costing taxpayers billions of dollars, according to state officials.

One proposal under discussion at the White House would preserve the exemption from Social Security tax for state and local workers who do not have to pay it but would cut off the exemption for new workers.

If the proposal were enacted, state and local governments would have to compensate for the decrease in money flowing into pension plans from new employees. In addition, state and local governments would have to start paying millions a year as the employers' share of Social Security tax.

The genius of making civil service jobs less appealing to the employees and the employers is obvious.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 7, 2005 8:27 AM