why payroll taxes for SS are such an important (economic justice) issue

Let me try another angle: If we're going to take $3,000 from a 25-year-old earning $25,000-- let's say a head-of-household (married or single) with one child-- it better be for some incredible reason.

In my mind, saying thanks and "we'll get that back to you in 40 years at a 1% rate of return" with Social Security does not qualify as a sufficiently good answer.

(We could also talk about Medicare and Indiana's income taxes on the working poor-- smaller but still significant issues.)