TAX BREAK ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Leave it to Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft to make one of the worthiest and most fruitful proposals of this or any other year. Last week, our state's junior senator proposed making Social Security taxes deductible on the federal income tax return. Good for him.

Social Security taxes have grown to the point that they are an enormous burden on working Americans. Indeed, for many workers, especially younger ones in the early stages of their work lives, the bite from Social Security taxes is even higher than what they pay in federal income taxes. Add to the worker's hefty contribution the 7.5 percent portion paid by his or her employer, and you have a huge drag on job creation and retention. Small, entrepreneurial businesses are hit especially hard.

The Ashcroft proposal originated in recommendations from the commission on taxation and economic growth headed by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp. This proposal, which can be thought of as a supply-side tax-cutting measure, would lighten this burden, saving the average two-earner family about $1,770 a year. The GOP presidential nominee, Bob Dole, should embrace it and press this encouraging idea in his uphill campaign for the White House. Doing so would help working Americans to see clearly who is on their side.