Social Security's survival vs. another new (old) GOP attack
deal aimed to “cut it” while protecting the very rich as cited in this article
at RAW STORY with this headlines and
key part of the GOP plan below:
“GOP pushes Social
Security ‘death panel’ after years of tax cuts for the rich”
A bill introduced earlier this month by Sens. Mitt
Romney (R-UT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) — would form a 16-member
bipartisan, bicameral fiscal commission comprised of 12 elected officials and
four outside experts tasked with crafting legislation to “improve solvency of
federal trust funds over a 75-year period.”
If approved by the
commission, the legislation would be put on a fast track in the House and
Senate.
Romney insisted during his testimony that he
doesn't know of a single Republican or Democrat who wants to cut Social
Security and said benefit reductions should be off the table.
However, Social Security Works (SSW), a progressive advocacy group, pointed that an earlier proposal released by the Republican Study Committee (RSC) — a panel comprised of 175 House Republicans — called for raising the Social Security retirement age, which would de facto cut benefits across the board.
Rep. Jodey Arrington
(R-TX), who presided over that hearing, just happens to be a member
of the RSC, and during his opening remarks, described efforts to prevent what he
called a “sovereign debt crisis as our generation's World War.”
Alex Lawson, executive director, of SSW told Common Dreams that at today's hearing, Republicans made the true purpose of their fiscal commission crystal clear: “Demolish Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors, while avoiding accountability from voters.”
Chairman Arrington then referred to the commission's supporters as
“partners in crime” after Lawson added: “That's exactly what they are:
criminals who are plotting to reach into our pockets and steal our earned
benefits. It should be a national scandal that middle- and working-class
families have to pay Social Security taxes on all of their income but
millionaires and billionaires do not.
Instead of taking the deeply unpopular step of slashing benefits, Democrats
who spoke at the budget committee hearing argued that Congress should pass
legislation requiring the rich to contribute more to Social Security. This
year, because of the payroll tax cap, millionaires stopped paying into the
program in late February.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said at the same hearing: “It should be a national scandal that middle- and working-class families have to pay Social Security taxes on all of their income but millionaires and billionaires do not.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle
(D-PA), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said at Wednesday's
hearing that Congress could extend Social Security's solvency through the end of the
century by requiring the
rich to pay more in taxes, while adding: “I think that is fair. I think
that is appropriate. And for those who disagree, I would be very interested in
seeing what their plan is and their alternative.”
Following the
hearing, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) delivered a speech on the House floor condemning
Republicans for: “Working to establish a death panel commission to gut
earned benefits” then he added: “First,
Republicans pass tax handouts for their filthy rich donors, promising a
trickle-down miracle that never has and will never happen — from Reaganomics to
Trump's tax scam. Then, when their tax scam causes the economy to slow and
deficits to grow, they refuse to correct their mistake. Instead they blame
immigrants, poor folks, Black folks, and brown folks.”
Rep Lee continued:
“Then they repeat the cycle hoping enough of us will forgive or forget their
scheme to tear away Medicare and Social Security and believe their lie that
they were only after food assistance, healthcare, and housing for poor folks — not
your earned benefits — when the truth is that they always were and always will
be after it all.”
My 2 Cents: Rep. Lee and the others are like-minded are spot on. The
devil is in the details as they say, but in this case the Devil might very well
appear to be Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) who hates Social Security and he has
the record and statements and stance to prove it (as seen here FYI).
More about Speaker Johnson (from
NBC News and also from here my earlier post) – not pretty – not one bit:
In the years under
President Biden, Johnson voted against a slew of bipartisan bills —
(1) Against the January 6
House Commission; (2) the infrastructure law; (3) reauthorization of the
Violence Against Women Act; (4) a modest new gun law; (5) the CHIPS and Science Act; (6) for the debt limit law negotiated by
McCarthy and Biden; (7) voted against the stopgap bill to avert a government
shutdown on Oct0ber 1; (8) voted to cut off U.S. military assistance for
Ukraine; (9) against legal abortion for any reason; (10) voted against
bipartisan legislation to codify same-sex marriage; (11) Johnson authored legislation called the “Stop the Sexualization
of Children Act of 2022,” which prohibits the use of federal funds to develop,
implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or
literature for children under the age of 10.
FACT: The GOP has for a very long time wanted to cut and/or scale
back Social Security while benefitting the very rich who just simply do not pay
their fair share, etc.
Those who get SS have as
we all know ALREADY paid into the system and now want to enjoy their earned
retirement since it was enacted August 15, 1935. Do we surmise that GOPers
never worked and earned that same benefit including I might add are those
serving now in Congress – Oops …
Thanks for stopping by.
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