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By the Numbers: $40

Summary: 
Losing the payroll tax cut will cost the typical family earning $50,000 a year about $40 with each paycheck.
$40

If Congress fails to extend the payroll tax cut, the typical family making $50,000 a year will have about $40 less to spend or save with each paycheck. Over the year, that adds up to about $1,000.

Opponents of the payroll tax cut dismiss its impact by insisting $40 isn’t a lot of money, but that’s not the case for many families who are already working hard to make ends meet. Forty dollars buys a tank of gas or a fridge and pantry full of groceries. It covers a water bill or the cost of a prescription.

Tell us what making $40 less each paycheck would mean for you and your family.

The payroll tax cut doesn’t just benefit the 160 million American workers who receive it, however. It also helps the economy as a whole. People spending money on goods and services generate business for stores and companies, who can then hire more workers, creating more jobs across the country.

President Obama says that this is a make or break moment for the middle class, and those trying to reach it. The defining issue of our time is whether we can build an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded.  And the President will continue to fight to make sure that working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement. 

To make sure people here in Washington know that losing the payroll tax cut would affect people everywhere, tell us what making $40 less each paycheck would mean for you and your family. What would you have to give up or go without? Share your story here and add your voice to the debate.