https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2013/02/08/confirmed-payroll-tax-holiday-a-big-nothingburger/feed/HotAir is the leading conservative blog for breaking news and commentary covering the Biden administration, politics, media, culture, and current elections.en-usThu, 23 Apr 2026 14:33:55 -0400<![CDATA[This should be a lesson to politicians and economists about the nature of gimmicky &#8220;stimulus&#8221; efforts &#8230;. but probably won&#8217;t be.  In the pressure cooker of the tax fight over the holidays, most people forgot about the payroll-tax holiday &#8212; the reduction by two percentage points of FICA withholding for Social Security.  Its backers claimed that putting $20 a week in the hands of earners would boost spending and the economy, which turned out to be entirely false.  They then claimed that the expiration of this temporary stimulus would tank the economy through reduced spending.]]>Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:01:57 -0500<![CDATA[Ed Morrissey]]>https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2013/02/08/confirmed-payroll-tax-holiday-a-big-nothingburger-n204552