President Barack Obama sought on Saturday to boost pressure on Republican lawmakers to back an extension of a tax cut for U.S. workers that he views as vital to help the fragile economy, according to Reuters. Obama's proposal to renew a temporary payroll tax holiday has received a lukewarm reception from Republicans who say it would not do much to spur economic growth and would weaken the Social Security retirement program. Without congressional action by the end of the year, the payroll tax would revert to 6.2 percent from the current rate of 4.2 percent. Obama has warned that failure to extend the cut would deal a huge blow to the economy.
