Republicans like Rand Paul continue their Social Security scare campaign, full of fiction and no fact. The Budget Deal did NOT steal money from Social Security but it did prevent a 20% cut to people with disabilities. Maybe the Senator doesn’t realize that the disability program IS Social Security?!
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#rand paul #politics #social security #SSDI #seniors #entitlements #retirement #entitlement reform #retirement crisis #retirees #p2 #elderlySOCIAL SECURITY
Paul has called for the partial privatization of Social Security, a program he previously referred to as “a Ponzi scheme.”
He proposes the gradual increase of the retirement age for Social Security recipients and promotes means testing benefits to reduce payouts to high-income retirees.
Paul is also an advocate of reforming the Social Security disability trust fund, which is set to run out of money in 2016.
In January, Paul complained that “over half of the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts,” according to a recording by American Bridge, a liberal tracking group.
Paul later clarified that, “there are people who are truly disabled, so the program should first of all prioritize those who are truly disabled.”
via Business Insider.
Social Security’s retirement, survivors, and disability benefits are closely integrated, sharing the same benefit formula and similar work-history requirements. Like the rest of Social Security, SSDI largely serves older Americans. About three-fourths of beneficiaries are over 50, and more than one-third are over 60. SSDI beneficiaries seamlessly switch to retirement benefits at age 66. Thus, cutting disability benefits would cut the retirement benefits of the affected workers as well.
via CBPP.
Trump’s budget proposal, though widely disregarded by congressional appropriators, would cut $31.4 billion from SSDI over 10 years, according to the Washington Post.
“I recognize that he’s going to be saving Social Security Retirement, but he’s not saving Social Security Disability Insurance, which benefits more than 10 million Americans,” NBC’s Peter Alexander told Mulvaney in a press briefing Tuesday, pointing to Trump’s repeated campaign promises not to cut Social Security. “So is the President keeping his promise on that program?”
Mulvaney argued that SSDI “is not what most people would consider to be Social Security.”
via Talking Points Memo.
Discussions about Social Security in politics and the media often focus on its role as a retirement program that provides vital protections to seniors. But the fact is that Social Security provides vital retirement, disability, and survivors’ insurance for all generations of Americans. In addition to significantly reducing senior poverty, Social Security is the nation’s largest children’s program and lifted 6.9 million Americans under age 65 out of poverty in 2014. And no generation has a greater stake in the fight to protect and expand Social Security benefits than today’s young workers, the millennial generation.
via Talk Poverty.
There is a misconception that Social Security is just for “old people” when in fact, about 4.4 million American children receive approximately $2.7 billion in Social Security benefits each month because at least one of their parents is disabled, retired or deceased.
Asked Monday if the Trump administration would address “entitlement reform,” White House chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow said it will “probably” look at “larger entitlements” next year. Entitlement reform generally refers to changes or cuts to large government social programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or food stamps.
via CNBC.
Related Reading:
via twitter.
Related Reading:
Some in Washington talk about a need for “entitlement reform.” That translates to possible cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid — or all three. One crucial element should not be missed: These safety net programs work in tandem. Changes to one affect another. Just-released data show this is particularly true for older Americans, whose financial and health security depend on these programs working in concert.
A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation lays bare this interdependence. Nearly three-quarters of retirees see little to no annual increase in their Social Security income after they pay their Medicare hospital and drug premiums.
Read more from this article via The Hill.
Seniors rely on the mail for everything from bill paying to collecting #SocialSecurity benefits. We must #SaveTheUSPS! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/postal-service-louis-dejoy-delivery-10-year-plan/
