Over the past few weeks, reports have surfaced that President Barack Obama is interested in providing middle-class families with additional tax cuts beyond just the preservation of the Bush-era tax rates. While that is welcome news, not all methods of delivering middle-class tax relief are created equal.

The best way the White House can boost the middle-class consumer spending that drives our economy is to abandon the payroll tax cut in favor of a far more stimulative and equitable approach. For the same price tag as an extended 2 percent reduction in employee contributions to Social Security, we could deliver $120 billion in tax relief for more American workers in the form of either a direct, one-time refund or a refundable tax credit double the size of the original Making Work Pay initiative.

A refundable tax credit, or singular payment of $800 for individuals and $1,600 for families, would cost no more than the payroll tax cut and actually put more money in the pockets of Americans who need it most and would immediately spend it. According to the Tax Policy Center, the distributional impact of this approach would provide a greater benefit to the middle- and lower-income families most certain to spend the extra money and thus boost our economy. Furthermore, because many of our nation’s teachers, police officers and firefighters do not pay into the Social Security system, they have not benefited from the payroll tax cut. Instead of letting these workers fall victim once again to the inequities inherent in a payroll tax cut, we should embrace a tax plan that truly delivers tax relief for all.

This more effective approach to middle-class tax relief comes with another bonus: It shields Social Security’s independent revenue stream — the payroll tax — from the politics of the day. Reducing contributions to Social Security and replenishing the Trust Fund with borrowed money from our general budget undermines Social Security’s structural integrity. For decades, the payroll tax cut has protected Americans’ hard-earned retirement benefits from the red pen of those hostile to it. A payroll tax-cut extension is the surest way to leave Social Security revenues subject to the discretion of Republican leaders like Paul Ryan who would be more than happy to divert it to Wall Street or cut benefits. Worse, if the reduced payroll tax were made permanent, Social Security’s long-range funding gap would more than double, converting a modest shortfall decades away into an immediately impending crisis.

The American people gave the president an overwhelming victory in November because they trust him to do what is right. They trust him to advocate for the most honest and most effective solutions to our economic challenges. That means embracing more effective, targeted tax relief and abandoning this unnecessary backdoor threat to Social Security. Even as the president and congressional negotiators rush to avert the fiscal cliff, it is imperative to get this compromise right. Social Security provides two-thirds of retirees with more than half their income, lifts 20 million Americans out of poverty, and in poll after poll, enjoys enormous support from the American people. There is no reason to undermine the independent revenue stream of Social Security when a far more effective method of providing the middle class with tax relief and boosting consumer spending is right in front of us.

Rep. Ted Deutch is a Democrat from Florida; Rep. Lloyd Doggett is a Democrat from Texas.