Trump's Budget Nominee Still Thinks Social Security Is A Ponzi Scheme
8 years, 2 months ago

Trump's Budget Nominee Still Thinks Social Security Is A Ponzi Scheme

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s choice to manage the federal government’s budget admitted Tuesday that Social Security is in fact constitutional, but he was still not willing to renounce his description of the program as a “Ponzi scheme.” Rep. Mick Mulvaney, the nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, also refused to say at his confirmation hearing whether he’d push Trump to keep his campaign pledges to not cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Since Trump had said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he would not touch benefits in the key social safety net programs, Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee were curious to know whether Mulvaney would seek to push his own views at the OMB or would work to implement Trump’s promises. “We have a president who ran on a set of principles that he would not cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, yet he is nominating someone whose views are very, very different. “The truth is that if we do not reform these programs that are so important to your constituents in Vermont and to mine in South Carolina, I believe in nine or 10 years the Medicaid trust fund is empty, and roughly 17 or 18 years, the Social Security trust fund is empty.” Mulvaney told other senators that he would back means testing and raising the retirement age as some of the ways to fix the problems.

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History of this topic

Democrats Say DOGE Will Lead To Social Security Benefit Cuts, Privatization
2 days, 23 hours ago

Democrats Say DOGE Will Lead To Social Security Benefit Cuts, Privatization

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — A key part of President Donald Trump’s victories in 2016 and 2024 was his ability to move the Republican Party away from its longstanding belief the United States needs to cut spending on Social Security and Medicare. “As I’ve been saying for weeks now, this approach is a prelude to privatizing Social Security and handing …

Social Security in-person identity checks opposed by advocates and retirees alike
1 week, 2 days ago

Social Security in-person identity checks opposed by advocates and retirees alike

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration’s plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices has sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population. The agency announced Tuesday that, beginning March 31, …

Does Elon Musk plan to eliminate social security measures in US? Here’s what the billionaire says
Trending News
2 weeks, 4 days ago

Does Elon Musk plan to eliminate social security measures in US? Here’s what the billionaire says

Live Mint  

Elon Musk dismissed social security theories and called them fraud, highlighting that federal programs will be one of the major targets for reducing government spending, reported AP on Monday. Musk's statement on social security programs may spark a debate among American politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, amid his efforts to downsize the federal government. Musk's statement on Social Security programs …

Hiltzik: Social Security is in Trump's crosshairs
3 weeks, 4 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. …

Elon Musk Calls Social Security 'The Biggest Ponzi Scheme Of All Time'
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Elon Musk Calls Social Security 'The Biggest Ponzi Scheme Of All Time'

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Elon Musk is calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” prompting suspicion that the world’s richest man is merely hoping to privatize a social safety net that has existed since the 1930s — and has kept millions of elderly, poor and disabled Americans from destitution. The billionaire argued Friday on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that the United …

Trump promised he won't cut Social Security. Should you trust him?
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Trump promised he won't cut Social Security. Should you trust him?

LA Times  

Hello and happy Tuesday. “We know that the Social Security trust fund is going to run out of money, and that means something has to happen,” said Alan Auerbach, a professor of economics and law at UC Berkeley. Digging a deeper hole Despite that chilling reality, Trump’s only detailed plan on Social Security so far is one that would put …

Column: GOP and Musk unveil a threat to Social Security
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Column: GOP and Musk unveil a threat to Social Security

LA Times  

You may have been tempted to believe Donald Trump when he swore, along with some of his Republican colleagues, to protect Social Security. They take ‘your money’” and use it for whatever the current Congress deems ‘necessary.’” And a fourth is to complain that the trust fund is mismanaged: “If you had put the same amount into literally ANYTHING else …

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

'I hope Social Security's around': Trump rallygoer expresses fear of Project 2025
5 months ago

'I hope Social Security's around': Trump rallygoer expresses fear of Project 2025

Raw Story  

A supporter of Donald Trump said she feared Social Security would be degraded after being warned about Project 2025. "And I have friends who keep trying to say, you know, because the Democrats keep saying that Project 2025 is Trump's, and it's not, but they don't seem to listen, you know. "I would think so, because of the fact that …

Trump plans would decimate Social Security in just 6 years: new study
5 months, 1 week ago

Trump plans would decimate Social Security in just 6 years: new study

Raw Story  

Social Security could be drained of cash in just six years if Donald Trump becomes president in 2025, a report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warned Monday. NOW READ: Not even ‘Fox and Friends’ can hide Trump’s dementia Deporting undocumented immigrants, many of which have payroll taxes taken from their wages, would cost millions of dollars, the …

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, …

Alaska Republican Compared Social Security To 'Ponzi Scheme'
6 months, 1 week ago

Alaska Republican Compared Social Security To 'Ponzi Scheme'

Huff Post  

Republican Nick Begich, a wealthy software entrepreneur, claimed, without evidence, that Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme," because its trust funds are invested in Treasury bonds. Mark Thiessen/Associated Press Nick Begich, the Alaska Republican challenging Rep. Mary Peltola in a critical House race, compared Social Security to a “Ponzi scheme” in an appearance on a conservative talk radio show last …

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 …

Social Security, Medicare, and 2024: House Republicans proposed wildly unpopular cuts to entitlement programs—and President Biden pounced.
55 years, 2 months 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 …

‘If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath’: Trump campaign downplays remarks
1 year ago

‘If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath’: Trump campaign downplays remarks

LA Times  

Former President Trump warned of a “bloodbath” if he loses in November, and claimed that he — not President Biden — will protect Social Security, as he campaigned for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Ohio. Trump, speaking Saturday on a wind-whipped airfield outside Dayton, praised his chosen candidate in the Senate race as an “‘America first’ champion” and a “political …

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 …

Pence seeks ‘common sense’ Social Security, Medicare reform
2 years 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 …

"It's just a bad idea": McConnell slams Rick Scott proposal to sunset Medicare and Social Security
2 years, 1 month ago

"It's just a bad idea": McConnell slams Rick Scott proposal to sunset Medicare and Social Security

Salon  

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., slammed Sen. Rick Scott's, R-Fla., plan to sunset all federal programs, including Medicare and Social Security, days after President Joe Biden dubbed it the Republican Party's plan at the State of the Union. When asked about the provision that would require Social Security and Medicare to be reauthorized every five years, McConnell told longtime …

Watch: Biden addresses social security and medicare in Tampa
2 years, 1 month 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
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 …

Column: Mike Pence, would-be president, has a plan to kill Social Security. It will cost you
2 years, 1 month ago

Column: Mike Pence, would-be president, has a plan to kill Social Security. It will cost you

LA Times  

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is contemplating a presidential campaign, has revived a GOP Social Security plan that crashed and burned in 2005. “A very simple fund that could generate 2% would give the average American twice what they’re going to get back on their Social Security today.” Pence didn’t say outright that he advocates killing Social Security. He …

Mike Pence calls for privatizing Social Security: They "keep saying the quiet part out loud"
2 years, 1 month ago

Mike Pence calls for privatizing Social Security: They "keep saying the quiet part out loud"

Salon  

This article originally appeared at Common Dreams. Former Vice President Mike Pence, a possible 2024 presidential candidate, has voiced support for a Social Security privatization scheme that the George W. Bush administration unsuccessfully pushed nearly two decades ago. In a closed-door event Thursday hosted by the National Association of Wholesale-Distributors, a corporate trade group, Pence said he believes that "the …

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 …

We’re the grandsons of Social Security’s founders. Here’s why it’s worth saving
2 years, 5 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 …

Column: Beating dire predictions, Social Security weathered the COVID crisis well
3 years, 6 months ago

Column: Beating dire predictions, Social Security weathered the COVID crisis well

LA Times  

Not long ago, the received wisdom among would-be Social Security pundits was that COVID-19 would absolutely crater the system’s finances. Just two weeks ago, Mitchell said on a Wharton podcast that “it seems that the date of insolvency of SS has crept sooner — perhaps as early as 2029.” Today’s report shows that Social Security remains strong and continues to …

Column: Trump to Social Security: Drop dead
4 years, 8 months ago

Column: Trump to Social Security: Drop dead

LA Times  

President Trump can’t seem to get the stupid idea of a payroll tax cut out of his head. — Max Richtman, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Trump hasn’t been too specific about the cut he demands, but even with a partial reduction in the payroll tax the poorest Americans would receive a few percent of the benefits, …

Social Security and Medicare funds at risk even before virus
4 years, 11 months ago

Social Security and Medicare funds at risk even before virus

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The financial condition of the government’s two biggest benefit programs remains shaky, with Medicare expected to become insolvent in just six years, while Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2035, the government said Wednesday. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who chairs the trustees’ group, said that the Trump administration was “working …

Trump now says he’ll save Social Security from his own plans to gut it
5 years, 1 month 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 …

Joe Biden’s Long Career as a Deficit Hawk Will Come Back to Bite Him
5 years, 2 months ago

Joe Biden’s Long Career as a Deficit Hawk Will Come Back to Bite Him

Slate  

For the vast majority of his career, Joe Biden was a proud deficit hawk—a man who fretted for decades about federal spending and, on occasion, bragged about his own personal attempts in the 1980s “to freeze all government spending, including Social Security,” in the name of fiscal prudence. Now, in the midst of a Democratic primary that has seen the …

Biden rips Sanders campaign for Social Security attacks
5 years, 2 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 …

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 …

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 …

Trump’s Budget Chief Is Trying To Make Him Rethink Social Security
8 years ago

Trump’s Budget Chief Is Trying To Make Him Rethink Social Security

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump made it clear during his successful run for office that he didn’t favor meddling with popular retirement programs, despite Republican calls to do just that. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that he’s been trying “to socialize the discussion” around …

Republicans Still Think Trump Will Cut Social Security And Medicare -- Eventually
8 years ago

Republicans Still Think Trump Will Cut Social Security And Medicare -- Eventually

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON ― Donald Trump said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he would not cut Social Security or Medicare, and in his first budget as president, he is sticking to that promise. “What I heard Mick Mulvaney say this week is we’re doing our skinny budget first and we’re not touching those things in our skinny budget,” …

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 …

Column: A Trump presidency would threaten programs like Social Security. Here’s how we know.
8 years, 10 months ago

Column: A Trump presidency would threaten programs like Social Security. Here’s how we know.

LA Times  

Donald Trump’s supposed commitment to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is one of the positions said to set him apart from Republican orthodoxy, which has the knives out for all such programs. During his campaign launch last June, Trump pledged to “save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts.” During a Republican debate in March, he said, “It’s my …

Column: Has President Obama appointed a fox to guard the Social Security henhouse?
8 years, 10 months ago

Column: Has President Obama appointed a fox to guard the Social Security henhouse?

LA Times  

Charles P. Blahous III has been a prominent figure in policy debates about Social Security for about 15 years. “By definition, securing a second term makes you an insider.” ---------- FURTHER READING: On Social Security’s 80th birthday, a dangerous leadership vacuum Is this Social Security trustee trying to undermine Social Security? “We should be working to expand and strengthen Social …

Donald Trump's Social Security heresy: Taking on Paul Ryan and the privatization push
8 years, 11 months ago

Donald Trump's Social Security heresy: Taking on Paul Ryan and the privatization push

Salon  

One of the most fascinating things about Donald Trump as a presidential candidate is how he effortlessly and effectively rips holes in the Republican policy agenda despite a) not really having a policy agenda of his own, and b) not really knowing what he’s talking about at any given time. At a recent debate, Trump got cornered by Ted Cruz …

The Five Worst Things Presidential Candidates Said About Money in 2015
9 years, 3 months ago

The Five Worst Things Presidential Candidates Said About Money in 2015

Slate  

It’s often said that we reveal ourselves every time we discuss and handle money. As for Marco Rubio, there’s one Social Security beneficiary he’ s interested in: his mom. It’s the work of three academics affiliated with Harvard and Dartmouth who claim the Social Security Administration is using a flawed statistical model to estimate the financial health of the program. …

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 …

Alan Simpson is more wrong than ever on Social Security
12 years, 10 months ago

Alan Simpson is more wrong than ever on Social Security

LA Times  

Former Sen. Alan Simpson, who has long been the go-to guy for obnoxiously know-nothing takes on Social Security, this week uncorked yet another spectacularly misinformed “factoid” about the program’s history. Here’s how Witte put it during two days of testimony, which can be found on the Social Security Administration’s website: “Whether a person works in a small establishment or a …

Rick Perry Blasts Karl Rove, Defends Social Security 'Ponzi Scheme' Comments At GOP Debate (VIDEO)
13 years, 6 months ago

Rick Perry Blasts Karl Rove, Defends Social Security 'Ponzi Scheme' Comments At GOP Debate (VIDEO)

Huff Post  

WASHINGTON - Whatever path Rick Perry had to a general election victory got narrower with each word the Texas governor spoke Wednesday night about Social Security. Perry declined the opportunity to back down from his book's claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme at the GOP primary debate Wednesday night, going so far as to criticize his former adviser …

Rick Perry Backs Off Social Security 'Ponzi Scheme' Comments
13 years, 7 months ago

Rick Perry Backs Off Social Security 'Ponzi Scheme' Comments

Huff Post  

WASHINGTON -- Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry recently walked back his claims that Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme," but other Republicans have made similar statements in recent months, saying the entitlement program is a "scheme" to take money from the American people. He also wrote that Social Security is "set up like an illegal Ponzi scheme." …

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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