Clawback Tax Redux

Someone's listening:

Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus joined Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Charles Schumer and Jon Corzine Wednesday in calling on President Bush and the Republicans to come clean about the effects of the “privatization tax” contained in the President’s Social Security privatization plan.

With the new “privatization tax,” the Republicans are going to give with one hand and take away with the other. Their plan will allow individuals to take money from the Social Security Trust Fund and put it into private accounts. But to recoup this money and lost interest for the Trust Fund, the Republicans will issue the new privatization tax, which will eliminate benefits by up to 70 percent or more.

I talked about this a few days back (here and here). This is the clawback provision. I commented then that Bush, by this proposal, was in effect instituting a new tax on the earnings people get on their private investment accounts.

Unfortunately, the Dems aren't using my suggested moniker for Bush's new tax: the clawback tax. Ah well. Can't have everything (where would you put it?)

(link courtesy Oliver, joke courtesy Stephen Wright)