Social Security, and Later Medicare, have been under ceaseless attacks by the FAR RIGHT ever since they were established. Below are some of the lowlights from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare:
– 1982 – President Reagan attempted to reduce Social security benefits for people who had retired before they turned 65
-1989 – attempt to impose monthly Medicare premium & a surtax for people over 65 with incomes above $35,000
– 1995 – campaign to impose $270 billion in Medicare cuts
– 2003 – attempt to cut Social Security funds by Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment
– 2005 – President Bush’s infamous Social Security privatization plan
-2008 – attempted “Medicare Trigger” imposing arbitrary 45% cap on government funding of Medicare
– 2011 – House Budget Committee Chairman’s infamous plan to privatize traditional Medicare
– 2013 – attempted Social Security “COLA” cut, and increase in Medicare eligibility age
– 2015 – attempted Social Security & Medicare cuts [“massive Soc. Secrty..cuts..52% Medicare premium rate hike”]
– 2017- “Trumpcare” plan to weaken Medicare [“leave millions uninsured & drastically raised premiums..”]
-2018 – attempted Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment {“required deep cuts to earned benefits”]
-2021 – attempted “Trust Act,” “which would establish so-called “Rescue Committees” for Social Security & Medicare and
set up these programs fro massive cuts in the future to pat down budget deficits”]
Then there is organized political campaigns by the Far Right to sabotage or eliminate Social Security and Medicare:
– “Advisers to Swift vets hired to shoot down the AARP”….”The lobbying group, USA Next, which has poured millions of
dollars into Republican policy battles, now says it plans to spend as much as $10 million..assailing AARP. ..[for]..
opposing the private investment accounts at the center of Bush’s plan.” [Glen Justice;2/21/05; n.Y. Times]
– “Theft from 401[k]s a growing problem” ”There is no..safety net for defined-contribution plans” {W.S.Jrnl; 3/6/05}
– “Economist Sees Private Accounts As Losing Bet” ’..Robert J. Schiller of Yale University found that private accounts
would be in the red at retirement 32% of the time…analysis..based on stock, bond & money market data from 1871
through 2004..” [Robert Schlesinger; May, 2005, AARP Bulletin]
- ”Comptroller pans private accounts”. ‘..[private accounts]..wouldn’t shore up the system, he said, if they were financed
or “carved out” from current Social Security taxes, as Bush proposes..” [ Steven Thomma; WashingtonBureau; 3/10/05}
– “The Business Roundtable..one of two main groups leading the charge for deep cuts in Social Security..is made up of
CEOS who have average retirement nest eggs of $14.5 million each, according to a report by the Institute for Policy
Studies and the Center for Effective Government.”…”The powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also “rededicated
itself to an effort to slash Social Security” according to the Washington Post.” [National Committee to Preserve
Social Security and Medicare; circa 2018]
- ”Debunking the Latest Attack on Social Security” ”For decades, the right wing has been warning..Social security is on
the verge of going broke..The grand old man of this fable was Peter G. Peterson, an investment billionaire..who spent
more than a half a billion dollars of his fortune to create the Peter G. Peterson foundation to propagate the myth.”
[ Robert Kuttner; The Progressive Populist; 12/1/23]
Steve Pressman: ”Fears concerning retirement are..perfectly understandable. for decades, the pillars supporting Americans in retirement have crumbled. Comfortable retirement was possible in the postwar era due to income from three sources – individual savings, employer pensions, and Social Security. Today, people lack adequate savings. They also lack pension plans that provide a steady income during retirement. Meanwhile, Social Security faces its own financial problems.
”Instead of trying to fix these problems, Republicans have attacked Social Security as another failed government program that requires large benefit cuts. And they have blamed individuals for not saving enough, even though the problem is the Republican policies that made it harder for people to save.”…
”Starting in the 1980s, businesses stopped offering their workers defined benefit retirement plans and began providing only defined contribution plans….In this brazen new world of retirement plans, if workers can’t contribute money, gthey are out of luck.”….
”This brings us to Social Security, whose benefits have been cut surreptitiously since the 1980s and are in jeopardy of further cuts in the future.”……..”Starting around 1980, almost all the income gains in the U.S. economy have gone to the wealthy. As a result of the earnings cap. a smaller fraction of total national income gets taxed by Social Security.”
[Washington Spectator; December, 2019]
The democratic, fair, SOLUTION, which will “promote the general Welfare” [Preamble, U.S. Constitution}, has been known for years:
Eliminate the earnings cap, with no change in benefits.
Why have an “earnings cap”???? Because, the excuse. was: millionaires & billionaires would be unfairly taxed!!!
they would see “no benefits” from being taxed 100% – like. YOU are taxed. !!!!!!!!!
No benefits from protection of their fortunes and property by police and fire; no protection from courts and laws; no protection from the U.S. military. Nope – nothing!!!!!
If YOUR relatives had been in the U.S. military, were traumatized, wounded, killed – none of this counts as a “benefit” for millionaires and billionaires; if one of YOUR relatives had been a “first responder”, and was traumatized, injured, killed – none of this counts as a “benefit” for millionaires and billionaires; if on of YOUR relatives was a construction worker building America’s infrastructure, and was injured or killed on the job - none of this is a “benefit’ to millionaires and billionaires; if members of YOUR. family. have been loyal, patriotic people just doing their jobs – none of that matters as a “benefit” go millionaires and billionaires.
The Rich have. “earned all their wealth by themselves.” They owe NOTHING. to the “undeserving” people in the lower 98 – 95%. - absolutely. NOTHING. So, THAT is why they get taxed at a Social Security tax rate less than YOU!!!!! That and the simple fact, like much else, the Rich have BOUGHT. this tax break. - this is “Campaign Contributions” at work !!!!!! And for that corruption, YOU. can thank. a corrupt U.S. ”supreme court. The “conservative” ”justices”. were placed on the “court” so they could make rulings like “Citizens United.”
And , thus, the Far Right continues to STEAL THE. AMERICAN. DREAM, in addition to being a Threat to Democracy.
With Justice For All 