The Social Security payroll tax is commonly viewed as a regressive tax that falls heavily on low income groups. The primary purpose of this paper is to determine if social insurance taxes, primarily the Social Security payroll tax, are regressive, and whether such regressivity, if any, has...

During the recent 1973-75 and 1982-82 recessions, millions of unemployed workers and their families lost their group health insurance. Although unemployed workers may receive unemployment compensation benefits that restore part of their lost wages, the loss of group health insurance can...