On Wednesday evening Barack Obama will be giving a speech on the budget, and although I refuse to pass judgment until after I actually hear what he has to say, Republicans have made such great gains for their draconian policies, I would be crazy, if I did not look to it with fear. For me, there is a line in that sand. Don’t touch Social Security or Medicare.
The President’s scheduled to discuss Social Security, Medicare, and the deficit in a speech this Wednesday. Let’s hope he isn’t about to make a serious mistake.
White House advisors like David Plouffe are saying that the President thinks "we have to do more" to rein in entitlement spending, and there are reports which suggest that the "more" he has in mind is "less" – less for middle class and lower-income Americans, that is. They say that the President’s planning to propose spending cuts for Social Security and Medicare.
Nothing’s been confirmed, but it doesn’t help when Mr. Plouffe’s follows his remarks about "doing more" to cut entitlements by saying that these cuts would be made with a "scalpel" and not a "machete." If the President amputates the wrong limb, who cares what kind of blade he uses?
And that’s exactly what benefit cuts would be: unnecessary amputations. Social Security doesn’t add to the deficit, and the only way to fix Medicare is by reducing the profit motive’s influence on health care costs. Could the President really be planning to cut these programs anyway?
Don’t do it, Mr. President. For everyone’s sake, please don’t do it… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Huffington Post>
Social Security is not welfare. It is a social contract for which workers have paid all their lives. Not touching benefits for those 55 and over sells out the rights of everyone under 55. A 54 year old worker has been paying premiums for 35 or more years. Can we justify cutting their benefits, or the benefits of a worker that has paid 25 years, or 15 or 5, or one? if we are going to change Social Security the only just way to do it is to change only for those who have never paid a single penny for it, because that social contract begins with the first paycheck.
Medicare is the only way to provide health care for older Americans that works. Like Social security, it is a social contract, like Social Security and the same reasoning applies. The only way to fix Medicare it to revamp our entire healthcare system to base it on care, not profit. Medicare for all would be an excellent fix.
Rachel and Chris Hayes discuss this and the left’s consternation with Obama’s failure to fight, despite the extreme unpopularity of Republican demands.
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I think our best chance for the future is to move the Democratic Party back to the left. That will take time and effort, rooting out DINOs from the grass roots bottom up and replacing them with progressive liberals. The deck is stacked against third parties, and if we teach Democrats another lesson, like those who stayed home last year did, my butt is going to need new O-rings.
18 Responses to “Don’t Touch Social Security or Medicare!”
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Any money that can’t be handed to the rich is seen as “welfare” by the Jonestown Rushpubliscums. The President had best start hitting that bully pulpit and explaining this.
JR. I fully agree. Either that or we will all be drinking Jonestown Kool-Aid.
Cut the military spending. Bring our troops home. Tax the rich. Why should they get away with a $0 tax bill?
Yes. Yes. Yes. More!
I’d be a lot happier if – and ONLY if – every dollar Teapublicans want to cut in spending HAD to be matched with an additional 50¢ “revenue enhancement” on everyone making a million bucks AND an additional 50¢ “revenue enhancement” on corporations.
Dollar down matched with a dollar up … and before you know it we’d have a balanced budget.
I should add that of course following this route we’d have a lot of dead senior citizens, disabled, disadvantaged and poor people – but I’m sure that’s a price that Teapublicans are MORE than willing to pay.
Hell, it’s a major part of their Platform!
That’s the RepubliCare death benefit.
I’m wholeheartedly with Patty. If corporations and the rich were paying their fair share (see my latest post), we wouldn’t have a deficit and there would be no need to cut ANY social program! This Afghanistan war is starting to eat into the pockets of those who cannot afford it. All we’re doing is supporting military contractors with money we don’t have. Let’s stop sending corporate welfare to Halliburton, Xe, and the Pentagon, and bring our soldiers home before we start robbing those on fixed incomes!
Jack, I heard that if we halved defense spending and returned everyone’s tax rates, not just the rich, to Clinton administration levels, that would balance the budget. If so, that is a compromise I would make for the short term.
Social Security should not be an issue. In fact, it does not adversely impact the debt as explained http://www.angrybearblog.com/2011/04/social-security-debt-limit.html
Sorry, I messed up the link. Try this one.
Good article, Jerry. Both links work now. I fixed them.
I don’t believe Social Security is entering the picture but Medicare and Medicaid are going under the knife – if only for a partial lobotomy. Not good.
Not good at all, Leslie. That’s a line in my sand.
This economic climate of depression and massive weather pattern changes is no coincidence.
Allow the things to happen to those who are creating misery to the middle class. Our government
is not ruled by the people for the people it is for those of control and power.
Allow social security and medicare for the middle class and we will not complain about the drug and gun industry making the rich richer…
You make no sense of it, because nobody asserted that drawing a line around two issues makes everything else OK. How absurd!
You are absolutely correct.
I think many use the argument of raising retirement ages or cutting benefits to avoid being labeled the “killer of social security.” Raise the age or cut benefits and you can claim you are “saving” it for the future.
I would be very angry if the benefits that were promised to me when I started working nearly 14 years ago were cut because of the fiscal irresponsibility of the far right…
Exactly, Kevin, Government entered social contracts with you the very first time they took your pay as Social Security and Medicare premiums.