At the beginning of 2013 when I received my first paycheck of the year it was less than what I had been receiving. I expected this and I was making about the same as I was before my change of rolls at my job. It was okay because I want to do my part. About a week later I learned that beginning with that payroll I had received a pay raise. What was originally estimated as a $30.00 or so increase in tax per pay period now came out to almost $60.00. Like the people interviewed for the following article - I too have had to cut back. Going out once a month can no longer happen. I walk to work so that I don't have to fill up and I try and make due with less. For this sacrifice the federal government gets more of my money and the local businesses get less. Then again the feds can better spend my hard earned money - not really.
New York Times
Jack Andrews and his wife no longer enjoy what they call date night, their once-a-month outing to the movies and a steak dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse in Augusta, Ga. In Harlem, Eddie Phillips’s life insurance payment will have to wait a few more weeks. And Jessica Price is buying cheaper food near her home in Orlando, Fla., even though she worries it may not be as healthy.
Like millions of other Americans, they are feeling the bite from the sharp increase in payroll taxes that took effect at the beginning of January. There are growing signs that the broader economy is suffering, too.
Chain-store sales have weakened over the course of the month. And two surveys released last week suggested that consumer confidence was eroding, especially among lower-income Americans.
While these data points are preliminary — more detailed statistics on retail sales and other trends will not be available until later this month — at street level, the pain from the expiration of a two-percentage-point break in Social Security taxes in 2011 and 2012 is plain to see.
Full story: New York Times
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