HR 3630 – Payroll Tax Cut Extension: NO.  Although the temporary payroll tax cut doesn’t produce lasting economic growth, I support its continuation because it allows working families to keep more of their earnings at a time of declining incomes, shriveling assets and rising prices.  But since the payroll tax funds Social Security, which is already in permanent deficit, these funds must be made up by other means.  The healthy way to do so is HR 3551, which I cosponsored, to give every American the choice to receive the year of tax relief in exchange for delaying retirement by a month.  HR 3630, however, adds $167 billion to this year’s already crushing deficit, purporting to repay it over the next ten years (in part) by tacking on additional fees to mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  This shifts the burden to new homebuyers, who will end up paying far more in new taxes (hidden in their mortgages) than they will get from the tax cut.  The average family will save $1,000 in payroll taxes, but pay an extra $2,000 for every $100,000 of mortgage principal they incur in the next ten years.