Politics & Government

What Does $40 Mean to You?

The payroll tax cut saves about that much per the average American's paycheck, White House officials said.

Congress Friday passed a plan to extend the payroll tax cut through February. After weeks of squabbling, both the House and Senate agreed with President Obama, who promoted the extension in a social media blitz.

The agreement followed a White House Twitter campaign with the hashtag #40 dollars, because $40 represents the amount the average person saves in his or her paycheck every two weeks with the tax cut, according to The Washington Post.

On Twitter, people posted that $40 represented a bag of groceries, or a tank of gas, or more money towards student loan payments. 

Find out what's happening in Elkridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Others urged friends to donate their $40 to Republican Senate candidates to "regain control in 2012."

In these parts, $40 would buy about a dozen blue crabs or three extra-large tomato-and-cheese pies from .

Find out what's happening in Elkridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

What will you do with an extra $40?

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Elkridge