Word: wage
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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That honor goes to the regressive, unfair system of payroll taxes that pays for those benefits. All wage-earners in America are required to kick in 7.51 percent of their earnings (the FICA tax) to the Social Security system. Even those workers who are so poor that they are exempt from the federal income tax have to pay the full FICA tax--no exemptions or deductions...
...regressive because it does not apply to earnings over $48,000 per year. Nor does it apply to "unearned" income such as interest on bonds. Thus, Social Security takes a huge bite out of a minimum-wage janitor's paycheck, while it costs next to nothing for a lawyer with a six-figure salary or a Donald Trump who makes his money by shuffling assets...
...embarrassing for Republican lawmakers since they had energetically backed a cut in the capital gains tax that would mainly benefit wealthy investors. They warned that another veto might be overridden. "We don't need to be known as the party that squeezed the last penny out of the minimum wage," said Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole. After the Administration signaled its agreement, the measure passed the House by a vote of 382 to 37. Quick approval is expected in the Senate, and the President could sign the bill by Thanksgiving...
...what will the higher minimum wage really mean to the working poor? Though economists are skeptical about business's claims that the increase will lead to large numbers of lost jobs, they also question whether it will do much to improve the lot of low-wage workers. Only about 4 million of the nation's 60 million hourly workers make the minimum wage or less, about 40% of them teenagers. The $6,968 earned annually by a full-time minimum-wage employee is $2,467 less than the federal poverty line for a family of three. Even when...
...usual selling point of skin-care products is to protect against sun, wind and weather. Now trend-alert cosmetic companies hope to wage a profitable war against an additional foe: pollution. Chanel touts the ability of its new Prevention Serum (price: $50 for 1.35 oz.) to counteract "environmental impurities." Estee Lauder's Skin Defender lotion ($45 for 0.9 oz.) promises to shield against the "onslaught of irritants from pollution." The treatments typically contain sunscreen plus ingredients designed to neutralize so-called free radicals, the highly reactive molecules found in some air pollutants...