Subjective value seems to be a theory that is easily manipulated to give you the answers you want.
That's what people said 100 years ago, now they accept the theory as a postulate, more or less. Economists of all stripes are interested in consumer sentiment and value-proposition, rather than nominal-value and the theoretical decisions of Homoeconimus.
Subjective value theory is not rational irrationality. It was developed to explain seemingly irrational behaviors of consumers, like their willingness to pay hundreds of dollars for a gallon of wine, but only a few dollars for a gallon of gasoline. However, the theory is not limited to consumptive paradox.
The purpose of payroll tax reform reform is subjective value, not absolute cost cutting. Under the current arrangement, boosting an employee from $60,000 to $80,000 will generate 15.3% marginal payroll tax. Raising salary from $120,000 to $140,000 generates just 2.9% payroll tax for Medicare. Wealthy people have higher income taxes, but income tax rates are individualistic and avoidable with non-income compensation. Virtually all pay growth occurs above the FICA tax threshold for this reason.
If payroll taxes were flat, rather than regressive, we'd have much better employment numbers. If all statutory tax rates were flat, and we had a system of transparent refundable tax credits, the labor market would be in much better condition. Look what income security and healthcare security have done for senior employment rates.
