How GOP War On Retirement Will Hurt You

GOP Leaders are waging a war on retirement. Here's how they are doing it.

Few will disagree that most Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement. With household income flat in recent years and many high-income jobs going away, it isn’t easy.
What’s maddening, though, is that instead of aiding Americans in retirement savings, Republican leaders are damaging retirement savings sources. This war on retirement has escalated recently.
Nearly half the workforce doesn’t have a retirement plan through an employer and the median retirement savings account balance for those 55 to 65 is under $15,000. That’s awful and a sure sign that poverty awaits millions of Americans if nothing is done.
via FORBES.

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huff.to

What the GOP's Sleight of Hand Budgeting and Deflection Politics Means for Social Security & Medicare

The American people must not be distracted by the ongoing political show to the point that they miss the real action occurring behind the scenes.

However, some conservatives in Congress insist that relief for programs like the Older Americans Act be paid for by cutting Medicare and Medicaid. This budgetary sleight-of-hand could trade partial relief for some seniors’ programs by cutting other essential health security programs like Medicare and Medicaid, thus further eroding the tenuous economic situation many older Americans face.

Max Richtman via Huffington Post.

Source: huff.to social security medicare Medicaid entitlements politics seniors retirement retirees retirement crisis p2 sequester budget congress GOP older americans entitlement reform

Rather than acknowledge our national retirement crisis and propose policy prescriptions to improve the ability of average Americans’ to save for retirement and boost benefits for Social Security and Medicare, policy proposals of most of the Republican Presidential candidates do just the opposite – cut benefits and shift more costs to middle-class families.

Max Richtman via Entitled to Know.

Source: ncpssm.org social security politics p2 seniors retirement retirement crisis retirees entitlements entitlement reform medicare health care older americans election election 2016 2016 election

lindasanchez.house.gov

Reps. Linda Sánchez Introduces Strengthening Social Security Act of 2016

Washington, DC – Representatives Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) along with 45 original co-sponsors today introduced H.R. 5952, the Strengthening Social Security Act of 2016:

Max Ritchman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: “America’s seniors understand all too well that our nation faces a retirement crisis and improving Social Security benefits is vital to keeping millions from poverty. Rep. Linda Sanchez’s ‘Strengthening Social Security Act’ makes several important improvements for seniors by: phasing out the payroll tax cap so that the wealthy pay their fair share, creating a Cost of Living adjustment for the elderly and boosting benefits for all retirees including widows/widowers. NCPSSM strongly supports this legislation and applauds Congresswoman Sanchez for doing the right thing for America’s seniors and their families.”
via Representative Linda Sanchez.

In the Fight for Retirement Security, It's 2005 All Over Again... But Ten Times Worse

…Here we are, eleven years later, facing another existential threat to our health and retirement income security. But this time the threat is worse, the peril more palpable. The millions of workers, retirees, the disabled and their families who depend on Social Security and Medicare have cause for grave concern.

More on this issue here.

Source: bit.ly social security medicare politics privatization seniors retirement retirees retirement crisis entitlements entitlement reform older americans elderly social insurance healthcare health care p2 congress

“Deficit hawks likely will pressure the White House to accept cuts in Social Security and Medicare for future retirees, protecting those already retired or close to it. Their political goal will be to defang public opposition, since younger workers... — Deficit hawks likely will pressure the White House to accept cuts in Social Security and Medicare for future retirees, protecting those already retired or close to it. Their political goal will be to defang public opposition, since younger workers tend not to focus much on retirement when it is several decades away.
But that approach is not going to work. Retirees and their advocacy groups will fiercely resist cutting benefits down the road, because they understand the critical importance of Social Security and Medicare benefits. They also care about the future retirement of their own children. And numerous polls show that the public opposes benefit cuts - a view that is common across all demographic groups and political affiliations.
via Reuters.
Related Reading:
New Poll Shows Majorities Do Not Support GOP Proposals for Social Security and Medicare.
In the poll of likely voters, 79% favor increasing Social Security benefits — and funding that increase by having wealthy Americans pay the same rate into Social Security as everyone else. **Seventy-seven percent oppose raising the Social Security retirement age to 69**, and **a whopping 93% favor allowing Medicare to negotiate to bring down the price of prescription drugs**.

Source: bit.ly social security politics retirement entitlements earned benefits medicare retirement crisis retirees retirement age p2 seniors older americans elderly healthcare health care rx drugs GOP congress trump donald trump

“The conservative argument that the retirement crisis is a myth has been based on the notion that Americans actually will have far more in retirement resources than they recognize — particularly that Social Security benefits will amount to a much... — The conservative argument that the retirement crisis is a myth has been based on the notion that Americans actually will have far more in retirement resources than they recognize — particularly that Social Security benefits will amount to a much larger percentage of workers’ lifetime income than has been assumed. Ergo, there’s no need to expand Social Security to give retirees more.
via Los Angeles Times.
Further Reading:
Letter Endorsing Social Security Expansion Act.

Source: ncpssm.org social security politics andrew biggs news entitlements retirement retirement crisis entitlement reform p2 retirees social insurance seniors older americans elderly

While this has a clear meaning to policy wonks, it is likely that most viewers won’t immediately know that “entitlements” means the Social Security and Medicare their parents receive. It’s a lot easier for politicians to talk about cutting wasteful “entitlements” than taking away seniors’ Social Security and Medicare.

Dean Baker via Truth Out.

Older Americans Month — slashing funds for our seniors is the wrong thing to do

OPINION | If the administration wanted to honor older Americans, would it have presented a “skinny budget” that needlessly hurts seniors?

Max Richtman, opinion contributor

May is Older Americans Month, but the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans are putting a serious damper on the celebration. Yes, candidate Trump promised not to touch Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

But his administration has been actively undermining those pledges. Budget Director Mick Mulvaney — who once called Social Security a Ponzi scheme — questioned the legitimacy of Social Security Disability Insurance — and wouldn’t promise a Presidential veto of legislation to privatize Medicare (a pet project of House Speaker Paul Ryan).

President Trump champions the GOP’s American Health Care Act, which guts Medicaid, undermines the solvency of Medicare, and allows insurers to charge older Americans up to five times as much as people in their 20s.

More on this issue here via The Hill.

Source: bit.ly politics older americans month social security medicare healthcare health care health p2 older americans elderly seniors retirement retirees retirement crisis entitlements entitlement reform earned benefits medicaid poverty

Lumping Social Security and Medicare together and calling them ‘entitlements’ is also telling. These are earned benefits, not entitlements, which American workers have contributed to throughout their working lives. Conservatives have long used the word 'entitlements’ to make those earned benefits seem like welfare.

via Entitled to Know.

Source: bit.ly social security medicare election seniors politics retirement retirees retirement crisis entitlements entitlement reform healthcare health care p2 older americans elderly election 2016 2016 election debate earned benefits

“The establishment is trying to pull a big one over on the public yet again. One of the designated topics for the last presidential debate goes under the heading, “debt and entitlements.” This should have people upset for several reasons.
”
Related... — The establishment is trying to pull a big one over on the public yet again. One of the designated topics for the last presidential debate goes under the heading, “debt and entitlements.” This should have people upset for several reasons.
via Truth Out.
Related Reading:
How to Talk About Social Security (& Medicare) Without Really Talking About It.
Framing benefits cuts as a way to “save” Social Security and Medicare while reducing the debt has long been the poll-tested language used to sell the American people on middle-class benefit cuts to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Source: bit.ly social security medicare politics seniors retirement retirees retirement crisis entitlements entitlement reform social insurance older americans p2 elderly healthcare health care election election 2016 2016 election debate

NCPSSM — How GOP War On Retirement Will Hurt You

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.