Column: Biden needs to clean house at the Social Security Administration, and fast
3 years, 11 months ago

Column: Biden needs to clean house at the Social Security Administration, and fast

LA Times  

Donald Trump’s obnoxious effort to plant a fifth column of administrative vandals inside federal agencies just before President Biden’s inauguration has been widely reported. They’re Andrew Saul, the Social Security commissioner, and David Black, the deputy commissioner. Virtually since their appointments, Saul and Black have been viewed as hostile to Social Security’s goals, its 64 million beneficiaries and its 60,000 employees. “Every Senate-confirmed commissioner since 2001 has been a Republican,” Social Security Works observed in a transition memo for the Biden administration. The same day, Saul announced two appointments to senior staff that heralded a new outlook at the agency: He named as his chief of staff Scott Frey, an Obama-era deputy commissioner, an official of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and a member of Biden’s Social Security transition team; and as another deputy commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi, a former fellow with the progressive Urban Institute.

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History of this topic

Biden awkwardly scolds reporters after being asked about age: ‘I know more world leaders’
3 days, 21 hours ago

Biden awkwardly scolds reporters after being asked about age: ‘I know more world leaders’

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy President Joe Biden snapped at several reporters Sunday when asked …

Millions to Get Bigger Social Security Checks If Biden Signs New Bill
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Millions to Get Bigger Social Security Checks If Biden Signs New Bill

Live Mint  

Millions of Americans may see their Social Security benefits increase under a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk — though critics warn that the measure comes at the cost of pushing the fund further toward insolvency. If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social Security payments to more than …

Column: Trump pledges not to cut Social Security. Here are the ways he could breach that promise
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Column: Trump pledges not to cut Social Security. Here are the ways he could breach that promise

LA Times  

Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley explained to a congressional committee that the program’s caseload has expanded rapidly while staffing has hit a 50-year low. “There’s a very serious worry on the horizon,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley told Al Sharpton on MSNBC last weekend, “because Donald Trump’s policies would seriously reduce the fiscal health of Social Security. Let’s take a …

Social Security, Medicare, and 2024: House Republicans proposed wildly unpopular cuts to entitlement programs—and President Biden pounced.
55 years ago

Social Security, Medicare, and 2024: House Republicans proposed wildly unpopular cuts to entitlement programs—and President Biden pounced.

Slate  

Does Joe Biden have a little momentum? Recently, both Trump and Republican members of Congress have generously taken to making Biden’s case for him—grabbing the third rail of American politics with both hands by pledging to cut beloved entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. It calls for raising the eligibility age for Social Security, a major benefit cut; overhauling …

Column: America’s retirement system is mediocre. The new House speaker wants to make it downright awful
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: America’s retirement system is mediocre. The new House speaker wants to make it downright awful

LA Times  

Back in my school days, a “C” grade was a certification of rank mediocrity. “The better pension systems around the world ensure that all workers are saving for their retirement,” David Knox, a Mercer senior partner who is lead author of this year’s pension index report, told me by email. Johnson’s disdain for the principles of Social Security and the …

Pence seeks ‘common sense’ Social Security, Medicare reform
1 year, 9 months ago

Pence seeks ‘common sense’ Social Security, Medicare reform

Associated Press  

As he mulls a 2024 presidential bid, former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called for “common sense and compassionate solutions” to reform entitlement programs and the nation’s debt burden, suggesting changes to Social Security and Medicare programs hurtling toward insolvency, particularly for younger generations, without naming specific recommendations. “It’ll just take courage to do it, and that’s where your …

Watch: Biden addresses social security and medicare in Tampa
1 year, 11 months ago

Watch: Biden addresses social security and medicare in Tampa

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors …

Biden warns of GOP plans for Medicare, Social Security cuts
1 year, 11 months 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 …

Biden promises to defend social programmes in Florida speech
1 year, 11 months ago

Biden promises to defend social programmes in Florida speech

Al Jazeera  

Biden has accused members of the Republican Party of threatening to cut programmes like Medicare and Social Security. “I signed the Inflation Reduction Act and took on the most powerful interest we’ve been fighting for years, pharma, to bring down healthcare costs so you can have a better night’s sleep.” The Tampa speech comes as Biden travels to key swing …

Republicans Are Angry at Joe Biden for Accurately Describing Plan to Sunset Social Security
1 year, 11 months ago

Republicans Are Angry at Joe Biden for Accurately Describing Plan to Sunset Social Security

Slate  

In early 2022, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the chair of the Republican Senate campaign arm, released what he called an “11 Point Plan to Save America.” One year later, one specific dim element of that plan—a proposal that all laws, including Social Security and Medicare, would expire in five years unless reapproved—is still coming back to haunt Republicans. “I’m politely …

Biden doubles down on attacks over GOP’s ‘dream’ to cut Social Security and Medicare
1 year, 11 months ago

Biden doubles down on attacks over GOP’s ‘dream’ to cut Social Security and Medicare

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. When Mr Biden spoke in the House chamber …

Republicans Applaud Biden On Social Security During State Of The Union
1 year, 11 months ago

Republicans Applaud Biden On Social Security During State Of The Union

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden engaged in something of a live negotiation with congressional Republicans during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night — and the two sides even seemed to agree. But for the past two weeks, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has made definitive statements that Republicans “won’t touch” Social Security or Medicare as …

Republicans erupted at Biden’s SOTU remarks on Social Security and Medicare. But these lawmakers have proposed cuts
1 year, 11 months ago

Republicans erupted at Biden’s SOTU remarks on Social Security and Medicare. But these lawmakers have proposed cuts

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans -- some Republicans …

Biden's State Of The Union Speech Shows This Isn't Your Father's Democratic Party
1 year, 11 months ago

Biden's State Of The Union Speech Shows This Isn't Your Father's Democratic Party

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING President Joe Biden, when describing the wacky and extreme element of the modern GOP, has long leaned on a simple phrase: “This isn’t your father’s Republican Party.” His State of the Union address, delivered Tuesday night, had a slightly different message, this time about his side of the aisle: “This isn’t your father’s Democratic Party. It’s your …

Elizabeth Warren sounds the alarm on GOP plot to "blow up the economy" to help Trump win in 2024
2 years, 1 month 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 …

We’re the grandsons of Social Security’s founders. Here’s why it’s worth saving
2 years, 2 months ago

We’re the grandsons of Social Security’s founders. Here’s why it’s worth saving

Raw Story  

Republican Mehmet Oz rightly observed in his sole Senate debate with Lt. Gov. Our grandfathers – President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Vice President Henry A. Wallace – together with Labor Secretary Francis Perkins, created Social Security, on which Medicare’s funding was modeled. FDR said the payroll tax was key to the success of Social Security: It gives workers “a …

COVID recession pushed Social Security insolvency up a year
3 years, 4 months ago

COVID recession pushed Social Security insolvency up a year

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The sharp shock of the coronavirus recession pushed Social Security a year closer to insolvency but left Medicare’s exhaustion date unchanged, the government reported Tuesday in a counterintuitive assessment that deepens the uncertainty around the nation’s bedrock retirement programs. The new projections in the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees reports indicate that Social Security’s massive trust fund …

Biden fires Trump-appointed head of Social Security agency
3 years, 6 months ago

Biden fires Trump-appointed head of Social Security agency

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said. Biden asked commissioner Andrew Saul to resign, and his employment was terminated after he refused the Democratic president’s request, a White House official said. “To fulfill President Biden’s bold vision …

Column: No, Joe Biden isn’t secretly planning to cut your Social Security
4 years, 1 month ago

Column: No, Joe Biden isn’t secretly planning to cut your Social Security

LA Times  

Advocates for Social Security and other social insurance programs never let their guard down against threats to the programs and their beneficiaries. — Nancy Altman, Social Security Works Biden “can’t hide 40 years of working with Republicans to cut Social Security,” Sanders has asserted, as in this March 7 tweet. That moment has led to concerns that a President Biden …

Bernie Sanders Hits Back At Joe Biden Over Social Security Claims
4 years, 11 months ago

Bernie Sanders Hits Back At Joe Biden Over Social Security Claims

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING In a matter of a few hours on Tuesday evening, former Vice President Joe Biden released a digital video The exchange has given Biden a chance to assure voters that he plans to increase Social Security benefits rather than cut them, despite his record of support for benefit cuts. Biden began the evening with a one-minute video …

Biden And Sanders Amp Up Criticism As Polls Show Them Separating From Field
4 years, 11 months ago

Biden And Sanders Amp Up Criticism As Polls Show Them Separating From Field

NPR  

Biden And Sanders Amp Up Criticism As Polls Show Them Separating From Field Enlarge this image toggle caption Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Former Vice President Joe Biden is defending his record on Social Security, amid increased criticism from the campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, which has repeatedly pointed to Biden's willingness as a …

Biden rips Sanders campaign for Social Security attacks
4 years, 11 months ago

Biden rips Sanders campaign for Social Security attacks

Associated Press  

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Joe Biden has called for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign to “disown” what he calls “doctored video” that some Sanders supporters say shows the former vice president endorsing Republican calls to cut Social Security and Medicare. He added other, more extended video, of Biden as a U.S. senator in 1995 and presidential candidate in 2007 explaining his support …

The Bernie Sanders Attack Joe Biden Can’t Ignore
4 years, 11 months ago

The Bernie Sanders Attack Joe Biden Can’t Ignore

Huff Post  

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, did not get a chance to litigate his criticism of former Vice President Joe Biden's Social Security record at a debate this past Tuesday. Biden inaccurately claimed on Saturday that a video circulated by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign had been “doctored” to make him seem more supportive of Social Security cuts than he …

Column: Elizabeth Warren offers a Social Security reform plan that checks a lot of boxes
5 years, 3 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 — …

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