Stewart interviews Bush Dirrector of Economic Council Lawrence Lindsey
VIDEO HERE: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=217029&title=lawrence-lindsey
LINDSEY: For the same amount of money, actually for less, than what they're about to spend on the stimulus, you could cut the payroll tax in half.
STEWART: So that'd be 15% down to 7.5%?
LINDSEY: Yes, I'd take 6 points off. Leave the Medicare, just cut the Social Security part. If you're making $50,000, that's $1,500 in your pocket and it's $1,500 in your employer's pocket if he keeps you on the job. If what you're worried about is job creation, job preservation, and making sure people have more money, that gives it to them directly. Don't send the money to the other politicians, that's where most of the stimulus package is going.
STEWART: Here's what I like about that: They always talk about, 'Oh, we don't want to give tax cuts to people who don't pay taxes, but they don't talk about payroll tax, the one that everyone pays it up until, what, $100,000?
LINDSEY: Up to $100,000.
STEWART: Up to $100,000. Then after that, why not cut it in half and then extend payroll taxes up through $500,000, through $1 million? That way you won't even lose any money, you still get that stimulus.
LINDSEY: You're not going to get the money back. The other thing is you're gonna extend benefits. The catch here, I'll tell ya, is that our benefits are tied to what we pay in. So if you don't...
STEWART: By extending the ceiling, by means testing to a much higher degree, won't you not lose...
LINDSEY: This is stimulus. The idea of stimulus is to put more money in people's pockets. You don't take from one pocket and give to another.