Social security's most media-friendly foe
12 years, 4 months ago

Social security's most media-friendly foe

Salon  

For those familiar with Ayn Rand's writing, the question "Who is John Galt?" That's almost certainly why, as CNN reports, Wall Street–coddling Republicans are "insisting that Social Security reforms be part of" the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. With burn-the-village-to-save-it talking points, she and her paymasters are pretending that they want Social Security to be part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations in order to strengthen the program for the long haul. If that sounds like hyperbole, peruse his political strategy memo for Social Security -- literally called "Achieving a Leninist Strategy" -- for yourself. When considered in the context of this history, it becomes clear that these same forces are now desperately trying to include Social Security in the "fiscal cliff" showdown because they see a chance to achieve their ultimate -- if now unstated -- goal.

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History of this topic

They've just signed Social Security's death warrant — are you ready?
3 weeks, 3 days ago

They've just signed Social Security's death warrant — are you ready?

Raw Story  

Tuesday night, Donald Trump stood before the nation and, with the full backing of billionaires like Elon Musk, laid the groundwork for the biggest heist in American history — the rapid, systematic destruction of Social Security, disguised as “reform.” We saw the formal announcement of it during Trump’s State of the Union address, and the DOGE announcement earlier in the …

Hiltzik: Social Security is in Trump's crosshairs
4 weeks, 2 days ago

Hiltzik: Social Security is in Trump's crosshairs

LA Times  

Perhaps the most frequently cited quote from Donald Trump relevant to his purported efforts to root out government waste has been “we’re not touching Social Security,” or variations thereof. Its press release about the reduction referred to the program’s “bloated workforce.” To anyone who knows anything about the Social Security Administration, calling its workforce “bloated” sounds like a sick joke. …

Social Security says higher payments are on the way for millions of former public workers
1 month, 1 week ago

Social Security says higher payments are on the way for millions of former public workers

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — More than 3.2 million Social Security recipients who received pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service jobs will soon see a boost in their benefits. The Social Security Administration announced it would immediately begin processing retroactive payments and will send increased monthly payments to people affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and …

Here's what happens when the world's richest man buys the presidency
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Here's what happens when the world's richest man buys the presidency

Raw Story  

In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt created Social Security, an insurance contract between Americans and the federal government that pays out on certain life events. Trump’s GOP will be making “hard” choices, meaning they will be cutting benefits, in order to fund tax cuts for wealthy donors. Musk and Ramaswamy went to Capitol Hill last week to talk up their plans …

Letters to the Editor: Social Security can be fixed easily, but it would upset the rich
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Letters to the Editor: Social Security can be fixed easily, but it would upset the rich

LA Times  

To the editor: The final votes from the 2024 election have barely been tallied, the inauguration is more than a month away, and President-elect Donald Trump’s close allies are already going after Social Security. This is how to fix Social Security’s insolvency problem: Everyone should pay the tax on all their income — no loopholes for the rich. Sen. Mike …

Experts: Analysis shows Trump proposal would "dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances"
5 months, 1 week ago

Experts: Analysis shows Trump proposal would "dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances"

Salon  

Social Security funds could run out in the next six years if former President Donald Trump wins in November, according to a new report from the bipartisan group Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Trump’s policies would add over $2.3 trillion to Social Security’s deficit between 2026 and 2033 and — and cause a 33% cut to benefits in 2035, …

Congress has just over a decade to fix Social Security before cash runs out
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Congress has just over a decade to fix Social Security before cash runs out

Daily Mail  

Social Security is expected to run short on funds by 2035, according to a new report. Social Security relies on its trust funds to provide monthly benefit checks to around 70 million Americans. While Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, said this was 'good news' for beneficiaries, he urged Congress to take steps to 'extend the financial health of the …

Congress has less than a decade to fix Social Security before it runs short of cash
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Congress has less than a decade to fix Social Security before it runs short of cash

NPR  

Congress has less than a decade to fix Social Security before it runs short of cash Social Security benefits are facing an automatic cut in less than 10 years unless changes are adopted. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: We hear this from time to time, an assertion that Congress has only a few years to fix Social Security. With tens of millions …

Medicare and Social Security go-broke dates are pushed back in a ‘measure of good news’
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Medicare and Social Security go-broke dates are pushed back in a ‘measure of good news’

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report Monday. Meanwhile, Social Security’s trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035, …

Column: Social Security is again in the crosshairs of a GOP budget, even though a long-term fix would be simple
1 year ago

Column: Social Security is again in the crosshairs of a GOP budget, even though a long-term fix would be simple

LA Times  

House Speaker Mike Johnson : His caucus makes no secret about what it intends to do with government services, and it’s not pretty. That brings us to the Republican Study Committee’s prescriptions for Social Security and the other major benefit programs, Medicare and Medicaid. The committee members grouse about how Social Security has expanded since it was originally signed into …

Renowned economist predicts Trump will 'wreck' Social Security if he wins
1 year ago

Renowned economist predicts Trump will 'wreck' Social Security if he wins

Raw Story  

During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump vowed not to cut Social Security if he won the election. Krugman continued, "It clearly signaled Democrats' vision for the future — in particular, their belief that we can preserve the solvency of Social Security and Medicare by raising taxes on high incomes rather than by cutting benefits. President George W. Bush proposed privatizing …

'Social Security is on the ballot,' say advocates as Trump threatens cuts
1 year ago

'Social Security is on the ballot,' say advocates as Trump threatens cuts

Raw Story  

With U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed 2025 budget released by the White House Monday just after former President Donald Trump issued his latest threat to slash Social Security and other safety net programs, economic justice groups said the choice between the two 2024 candidates could not be clearer. While Trump's answer was "largely gibberish," according to former National Economic Council …

The real reason Social Security is in danger that nobody’s talking about
1 year, 8 months ago

The real reason Social Security is in danger that nobody’s talking about

Raw Story  

It’s not just because too many boomers like me are retiring. Social Security is one of the most popular and successful government programs ever created, not only helping retirees — but it’s also keeping 26 million people out of poverty. A big part of the American working population today is earning less than the Social Security trustees anticipated years ago …

Column: Social Security is perfectly healthy, but there’s one easy way to improve it
2 years ago

Column: Social Security is perfectly healthy, but there’s one easy way to improve it

LA Times  

’Tis the season for hand-wringing over the fiscal condition of Social Security. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which is an offspring of the late private equity billionaire and Social Security foe Peter G. Peterson, declared in the wake of the trustees’ report that “Social Security is 11 years from insolvency.” The annual report lent urgency to a raft …

Why America can't put a dent in its $31-trillion debt
2 years ago

Why America can't put a dent in its $31-trillion debt

LA Times  

In his State of the Union address, President Biden promised to find trillions in spending reductions to tackle the national debt. Since the Reagan era, budget experts have warned that without changes to Social Security and Medicare, a huge wave of spending would build as baby boomers claimed their benefits and healthcare prices rose. Social Security and Medicare are among …

In GOP-held Florida, Biden vows no cuts to Social Security
2 years, 1 month ago

In GOP-held Florida, Biden vows no cuts to Social Security

Associated Press  

TAMPA, Florida — With an eye toward the 2024 campaign, President Joe Biden took direct aim at Republicans who have floated cuts to Social Security and Medicare — telling an audience in Florida on Thursday that he would create a “nightmare” for anyone who dreamed of trying them. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Louisville’s 840 WHAS on Thursday …

Biden warns of GOP plans for Medicare, Social Security cuts
2 years, 1 month ago

Biden warns of GOP plans for Medicare, Social Security cuts

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden suggested that Republicans want to slash Medicare and Social Security, the GOP howls of protest during his State of the Union address showcased a striking apparent turnaround for the party that built a brand for years trying to do just that. The record ranges from President George W. Bush’s ideas about privatizing Social Security …

'Need to stop Biden's excess spending': Trump warns Republicans to avoid cuts to medicare, social security
2 years, 2 months ago

'Need to stop Biden's excess spending': Trump warns Republicans to avoid cuts to medicare, social security

India Today  

Former US President Donald Trump, who launched his 2024 presidential re-election bid in November, on Friday urged Republicans in Congress not to cut “a single penny” from medicare or social security. He warned his fellow Republicans not to "destroy" federal retirement and health benefits as they try to exact spending cuts from President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in …

Column: ‘Moderates’ like Mitt Romney are threatening Social Security. Democrats don’t have to let them
2 years, 4 months ago

Column: ‘Moderates’ like Mitt Romney are threatening Social Security. Democrats don’t have to let them

LA Times  

You may have thought that the drubbing Republicans received in the recent election would have prompted party leaders to think more warily about promoting policies that nauseate the voting public. — Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, September 2021 Nevertheless, Romney again teed up the traditional, and discreditable, Republican shibboleth of attacking Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as “entitlements” that have …

Elizabeth Warren sounds the alarm on GOP plot to "blow up the economy" to help Trump win in 2024
2 years, 4 months ago

Elizabeth Warren sounds the alarm on GOP plot to "blow up the economy" to help Trump win in 2024

Salon  

This article originally appeared at Common Dreams. Asked Sunday whether the Senate will to act on the debt ceiling during the lame-duck session, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it is "something that we will look at over the next few weeks." "There's great risk to even discussing not doing it," said Pelosi, pointing to the destructive 2011 standoff over …

Column: GOP promises to gut your Social Security, Medicare if it takes power
2 years, 5 months ago

Column: GOP promises to gut your Social Security, Medicare if it takes power

LA Times  

It used to be a truism that no elected officeholders would dare to tamper with Social Security if they wished to keep their jobs. In its latest manifestation, four Republicans angling to become chair of the House Budget Committee in a Republican House talked openly about holding the federal debt ceiling hostage to an agreement on “entitlements” — that is, …

Column: Social Security trustees say the U.S. is rich enough to expand, not shrink, benefits
2 years, 9 months ago

Column: Social Security trustees say the U.S. is rich enough to expand, not shrink, benefits

LA Times  

After passing a huge tax cut for the rich, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Social Security and Medicare for the federal deficit. In 2018, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, identified “entitlements” — that’s Washington-speak for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — as “the real drivers of the debt” and called for them to be adjusted “to the demographics of …

Contributor: Setting the record straight about what Biden's proposed social programs would do
3 years, 4 months ago

Contributor: Setting the record straight about what Biden's proposed social programs would do

LA Times  

Democrats on Friday scored a win for President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Voices Calmes: There’s more to ‘Build Back Better’ than its price tag President Biden’s infrastructure plans and tax cuts add up to $3.5 trillion, but remember that the Republican tax cuts of 2017 added up to $5.5 trillion. He has opposed expanding social programs, and although his …

Column: Republicans seek to exploit COVID-19 crisis to cut Social Security benefits
4 years, 10 months ago

Column: Republicans seek to exploit COVID-19 crisis to cut Social Security benefits

LA Times  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is fretting about the federal deficit, now that billions are going to working people in coronavirus aid, rather than to the wealthy via a tax cut. The Post reports that they’re “exploring” a proposal put forth by two conservatives allowing workers to receive up to $10,000 today, but paying the money back by deferring their …

Trump now says he’ll save Social Security from his own plans to gut it
5 years, 2 months ago

Trump now says he’ll save Social Security from his own plans to gut it

Salon  

It used to be said that cutting Social Security was politics' third rail, a fatal taking of positions. For sure, we voters should be aware that Legislative Trump is definitely putting Medicare and Social Security cuts on the auction block. More seniors receiving benefits For years, we've recognized that declining numbers of working adults and increasing longevity would stress Social …

Column: Elizabeth Warren offers a Social Security reform plan that checks a lot of boxes
5 years, 6 months ago

Column: Elizabeth Warren offers a Social Security reform plan that checks a lot of boxes

LA Times  

Congressional progressives lately have been putting forth Social Security reform plans that shore up the system’s finances while improving benefits. Warren told me by email, “63 million Americans rely on monthly Social Security benefits, but current benefits are too small for millions of them to support a decent retirement.” Her $200 monthly increase would “address the current retirement crunch — …

Column: Trump’s budget would eviscerate the social safety net but provide welfare for the rich
6 years ago

Column: Trump’s budget would eviscerate the social safety net but provide welfare for the rich

LA Times  

Much of the news coverage of President Trump’s proposed 2020 budget, which was released Monday, focuses on two aspects. Trump boasts of his determination to “defeat the HIV/AIDS epidemic.” But as Lindsey Dawson of the Kaiser Family Foundation points out, the cuts and limitations he’s proposing to Medicaid would undermine care for HIV patients, 41% of whom get their health …

Column: Mitch McConnell says it out loud: Republicans are gunning for Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare next
6 years, 5 months ago

Column: Mitch McConnell says it out loud: Republicans are gunning for Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare next

LA Times  

All Washington seems to be buzzing this week over a single question: Is Sen. Mitch McConnell deliberately trying to throw the election to the Democrats? McConnell identified “entitlements” — that’s Washington code for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — as “the real drivers of the debt” and called for them to be adjusted “to the demographics of the future.” Translation: …

Should you be worried about Social Security and Medicare?
6 years, 9 months ago

Should you be worried about Social Security and Medicare?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — An unexpected weakening in the finances of Social Security and Medicare has raised concern about the bedrock programs for the middle class. “What is unusual in the space of one year is to go from something that isn’t supposed to happen for four or five years to something that’s happening right now.” As a result, Social Security and …

Column: Sen. Rubio tells a secret: After giving a tax cut to the rich, GOP will cut Social Security and Medicare
7 years, 4 months ago

Column: Sen. Rubio tells a secret: After giving a tax cut to the rich, GOP will cut Social Security and Medicare

LA Times  

Advocates for seniors and the middle class have been warning for weeks that the Republican drive to cut taxes for the wealthy is the prelude to a larger attack on Social Security and Medicare. Because the tax cut proposals the Senate was preparing to vote on late Friday would expand the deficit by about $1.5 trillion over 10 years, it’s …

Donald Trump's Budget Betrays His Pledge Not To Cut Social Security
7 years, 10 months ago

Donald Trump's Budget Betrays His Pledge Not To Cut Social Security

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for next year would cut Social Security Disability Insurance, despite Trump’s vaunted campaign promise not to make any changes to Social Security. Mick Mulvaney, the director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, said that cutting disability insurance doesn’t break Trump’s campaign promise because most people think only of retirement …

The GOP unveils a 'permanent save' for Social Security — with massive benefit cuts
8 years, 3 months ago

The GOP unveils a 'permanent save' for Social Security — with massive benefit cuts

LA Times  

Amid all the hand-wringing over Republican plans to eviscerate Medicare and Medicaid and repeal the Affordable Care Act, it shouldn’t be overlooked that the GOP has the knives out for Social Security too. Johnson on Thursday uncorked what he termed a “plan to permanently save Social Security.” Followers of GOP habits won’t be surprised to learn that it achieves this …

Taking A Stand On Social Security: Clinton's Bold Proposal vs. Trump's Hidden Agenda
8 years, 6 months ago

Taking A Stand On Social Security: Clinton's Bold Proposal vs. Trump's Hidden Agenda

Huff Post  

AARP has asked all candidates to take a stand on the vital issue of Social Security. For that matter, Donald Trump and the Republican Party have taken a Social Security stand, too, though a disturbing one, which they seem to want to keep hidden from view. In addition to expanding Social Security's cash benefits, Clinton and her fellow Democrats are …

What People Over 50 Aren't Hearing In All This Election Noise
8 years, 8 months ago

What People Over 50 Aren't Hearing In All This Election Noise

Huff Post  

Whether you think America already is great or needs to be made great again, if you are over 60, you may be feeling like wallpaper in this election’s run-up about now: You are there, presumably contributing to the room’s decor, but it’s finally dawning that nobody actually sees you. Here’s how the leading candidates say they will do it, according …

Social Security Still Isn’t Broke, New Report Confirms
8 years, 9 months ago

Social Security Still Isn’t Broke, New Report Confirms

Huff Post  

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew acknowledged Wednesday that Social Security faces financial challenges, but nonetheless said that making benefits more generous should be a priority. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg/Getty Images WASHINGTON -- Social Security will be able to pay full benefits until 2034, when it will face a modest gap in funding, the social insurance program’s trustees reported on Wednesday. But in a …

Retirement for Americans is getting even scarier. The candidates need to talk about it.
9 years ago

Retirement for Americans is getting even scarier. The candidates need to talk about it.

Slate  

News flash: Americans still aren’t saving enough money for retirement. This year’s occasion for despair comes courtesy of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which released a report Thursday titled “The State of American Retirement: How 401 Have failed Most American Workers.” According to EPI’s analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances between 2000 and 2013, slightly less than one-half of …

Column: Did the budget deal close a Social Security ‘loophole,’ or harm poor women?
9 years, 5 months ago

Column: Did the budget deal close a Social Security ‘loophole,’ or harm poor women?

LA Times  

But who got left behind? Leaving aside that this figure spans 75 years, meaning it probably averages out to less than one or two tenths of a percent of Social Security’s projected benefit payments over that time, the main change has been a purported closing of a “loophole” that allowed some couples to claim more than their share of benefits. …

Social Security Advocates Shrug At Budget Deal
9 years, 5 months ago

Social Security Advocates Shrug At Budget Deal

Huff Post  

WASHINGTON -- Advocates for senior citizens said they're neither happy nor unhappy with a congressional budget deal that makes changes to Social Security and Medicare. CBPP/Greenstein: the budget deal will "extend the solvency of SSDI through 2022," preventing benefit cuts https://t.co/cPSRoDpB9V — Adam Jentleson October 27, 2015 Earlier this year, Republicans railed against the possibility of reallocating payroll tax money …

The quiet Social Security revolution: How Democrats learned to stop loving benefit cuts
9 years, 11 months ago

The quiet Social Security revolution: How Democrats learned to stop loving benefit cuts

Salon  

From the time Social Security was first proposed, the right wing has opposed it. That "young man" to whom he referred is now 72 years old -- and judging by the polls, he's probably thankful for the guaranteed income that Social Security provides. Ronald Reagan's very indiscreet budget chief David Stockman let the cat out of the bag when he …

Centrists' clueless obsession: Why do so many want to cut Social Security?
10 years, 5 months ago

Centrists' clueless obsession: Why do so many want to cut Social Security?

Salon  

Centrism: how does it work? And yet there's one issue where those who define themselves as "centrists" -- the No Labels crowd, conservative Democrats, politicians running as independents to distance themselves from the taint of the "Democratic" or "Republican" party labels -- gravitate towards the exact opposite of what the vast middle supports: Social Security. They hugged the Simpsons-Bowles deficit …

How right-wingers use semantic tricks to kill government
11 years, 10 months ago

How right-wingers use semantic tricks to kill government

Salon  

“Semantic infiltration” is a term coined by the foreign policy expert Fred Ikle and popularized by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Why aren’t 401s and tax-favored health insurance, including traditional employer health insurance as well as individual insurance under the Affordable Care Act, “entitlements” as well as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? It matters because almost everything that is …

How Republicans really view Social Security
12 years ago

How Republicans really view Social Security

Salon  

Democrats surprised or angered by President Obama’s apparent willingness to reduce Social Security benefits may wonder why his entreaty has elicited mostly a snooze from Republicans, who speak often of their interest in "entitlement reform." Now, Democrats might argue that, by agreeing to reduce Social Security benefits, they’re also giving up something that would violate core principles. The problem is, …

Let’s beef up Social Security benefits instead of cutting them
12 years, 11 months ago

Let’s beef up Social Security benefits instead of cutting them

LA Times  

Advocates for strengthening Social Security have come to dread the release of the annual report of the program’s trustees. That’s because the event has become the basis for more hand-wringing about Social Security’s fiscal condition and calls to cut benefits for current and future retirees. And it points to the best way to improve Social Security’s value for all Americans: …

Obama Budget Chief Lew Stays Vague On Entitlements
14 years, 1 month ago

Obama Budget Chief Lew Stays Vague On Entitlements

NPR  

LEW: History shows us that when presidents put proposals out that have been shot down, it slowed the process down, it didn't speed it up. I think if you look at the president's statement in the budget it is a clear expression of interest in working towards a bipartisan solution with principles laid down that reflect how we're going to …

Social Security age ‘fix’ may not live up to expectations
14 years, 8 months ago

Social Security age ‘fix’ may not live up to expectations

LA Times  

Every politician worthy of the name knows that the easiest policy changes to put over are those that don’t kick in until well into the future. President Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission is believed to be toying with the retirement age change as part of its Social Security plan. So much for “open government.” “I’d call retirement age the leading issue” …

Social Security: Will Obama panel cripple it with ‘minor’ tweaks?
14 years, 9 months ago

Social Security: Will Obama panel cripple it with ‘minor’ tweaks?

LA Times  

Social Security’s curse is that its amazing simplicity from the standpoint of its beneficiaries — those checks keep coming regardless of the state of the economy or the federal budget — masks the complexity of its inner workings. That’s not true, right?” She replied, “Well, that’s nonsense.” Leave aside that her own website calls for Social Security to be “transitioned …

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