Social Security, in more ways than one the mother of all U.S. entitlement programs, has been the dragon that conservatives have succeeded in slashing, but never slaying, over its 80-year history.
via Talking Points Memo.
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![Earlier this week, Members of Congress and allies met to discuss Social Security and the GOP Congress’ manufactured crisis.
““Seniors, I stand with you all the way [on Social Security].”
- Rep. Jan Schakowsky
“We are in a crisis right now. A...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/93d9258801da499ce7712598d0be22b4/tumblr_njo11hjqsI1qd3gmvo1_1280.jpg)
Earlier this week, Members of Congress and allies met to discuss Social Security and the GOP Congress’ manufactured crisis.
“Seniors, I stand with you all the way [on Social Security].”
- Rep. Jan Schakowsky“We are in a crisis right now. A retirement crisis. Not a Social Security crisis.” - Rep. Jan Schakowsky
“Stop manufacturing a crisis with the Social Security disability trust fund.”
- Senator Bernie Sanders“This week anyone earning a million dollars a year will have paid 100% of their payroll taxes for 2015.”
- Max Richtman
Democrats slammed the House GOP for targeting Social Security in its new budget resolution unveiled Tuesday, contending that the move is part of an emerging Republican strategy to create a crisis atmosphere and set the stage for dramatic changes in how the program works.
via Talking Points Memo.
Related Reading:
Cutting Social Security Disability Threatens Millions of American Families.
Americans Push Back as Threat to Social Security & Medicare Grows.
“With a little-noticed proposal, Republicans took aim at Social Security on the very first day of the 114th Congress.
The incoming GOP majority approved late Tuesday a new rule that experts say could provoke an unprecedented crisis that conservatives could use as leverage in upcoming debates over entitlement reform.”
via Talking Points Memo.
Related Reading:
- “Changing the rules of the game to target Social Security in the very first hours of a new Congress sends a clear message to seniors, people with disabilities, survivors and their families – a message that certainly wasn’t shared with voters before Election Day – American families who count on Social Security in any way should beware.”
What’s a bigger priority for Republicans to attack even than Obamacare? Social Security. They proved it Tuesday when they included a new rule in their rules package governing the 114th Congress that will prevent it from authorizing what has been routine reallocations of funds between the two Social Security programs, the retirement fund and the disability program.
via Daily Kos.
Conservative have made clear their intent is to pursue changes, either to the disability fund alone or Social Security more broadly. But the liberal counter is that there is no crisis. The demographic and economic trends that have put the disability fund in jeopardy in late 2016 have passed. Transferring revenue from the retirement fund to the disability fund would keep both programs fully funded until 2033.
via Talking Points Memo.
More on this Topic:
Social Security Targeted on Day One of New Congress.
To improve that balance, Congress would have to cut benefits, raise taxes, or find another way to put both the retirement and disability funds on firmer footing. Lawmakers have in the past transferred funds from the retirement to the disability fund, and vice versa, nearly a dozen times.
Americans contact the Social Security Administration at the most vulnerable points in their lives — upon the death of a loved one, retirement, or when facing a life-changing disability. The last thing they need is a hassle in securing benefits.
After all, they paid for those benefits during their working years through Social Security payroll taxes. But thanks to draconian budget cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA), too many applicants face long hold times and busy signals— or deadly-long waits for disability hearings.
Literally thousands of disabled Americans die every year waiting for adjudication of claims. Meanwhile, some 10,000 Baby Boomers become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits every day. You don’t have to be an actuary to figure out: When workloads increase and funding is cut, service suffers.
Read more on this issue by clicking here.
We’ve written before about the GOP strategy to force broad Social Security benefit cuts while simultaneously demonizing America’s disabled. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) raised the alarm about attempts to politicize what has always been a routine and non-partisan legislative solution to balance the Social Security Trust Funds:
“Reallocation has never been controversial, but detractors working to privatize Social Security will do anything to manufacture a crisis out of a routine administrative function. Modest reallocation of payroll taxes would ensure solvency of both trust funds until 2033. But if House Republicans block reallocation, insurance for disabled Americans, veterans, and children could face severe cuts once the trust fund is exhausted in 2016.”
“We urged the President to support Social Security reallocation, as has happened without controversy 11 previous times, to avoid a massive benefit cut Americans with disabilities simply cannot afford. Today’s comment from the White House in support of this simple administrative fix is encouraging but we hope the President will reaffirm that position without any qualification in the State of the Union and use that opportunity to take a bold stand against these Social Security shenanigans in the House.”…Max Richtman, NCPSSM President/CEO
retirementrevised.com
House GOP trys pre-emptive attack on Social Security disability insurance fund
The U.S. House of Representatives didn’t wait long to launch an attack on Social Security. Under a last-minute amendment to HR 5, the House Rules Package approved on Tuesday, the potential options for fixing the looming shortfall in Social Security’s Disability Insurance program (SSDI) would be limited sharply.
via Retirement Revised.
Related Reading:
Social Security Targeted on Day One of New Congress.