Discussion for article #231992
Those deluded fools that VOTED for the GOP liars that continue to FORCE the KONSERVATIVE WAY on those who NEED Social Security benefits to live a subsistence living in their disabled or elder years will finally WAKE UP and view the GOP as the SNAKES THAT THEY ARE…
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In 20 years, the benefits of Social Security will have to be cut by 23% if nothing is done to the program. That is unacceptable! Clearly the only way to address this serious problem is to cut 23% from the program NOW (maybe a little bit more to make sure the program has been really saved).
I wonder if that logic works across the board. Stop abortion by having one now! And don’t sit around and worry about eventually dying. Kill yourself today!
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I am all for doing something about people who SCAM on disability. And the place to start is the thousands of cops, fireman, etc., who are doing just that. I’ve seen way too much of that going on, a cop on disability for life seen lifting weights, doing races, playing sports, etc. These are huge burdens on the system that need to be addressed. Same with IRS fraud, Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Start with that stuff. Not cutting benefits to people who actually need them. People pay into SS, so it should be there when they are eligible. Period. Yes, down the road the eligibility age will need to be gradually raised since people will keep living longer and longer. But you don’t cut the benefits.
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“…conservatives think they have another shot…”
To steal people’s money.
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Here is your chance Democrats. Point out that you STAND for Social Security and that the GOP does not. Give seniors a reason to vote for you. Don’t nuance, don’t equivocate, don’t waffle. Stand.
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Fortunately we can count on the Democrats to not just defend, but strengthen this vital, extremely popular program…oh, wait, we cant.
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It is true. The people that are against abortion, because it ends potential life, would like to abort Social Security because it sustains real life. It is not an entitlement! It is the fulfillment of a promise/contract between me and the government. If banks are too big to fail, how can the enormity of Social Security be any different?
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I’m surprised this article left out the right’s most substantive argument against Social Security–that joining the program marks you with the number of the beast and damns you to hell.
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Since it’s inception, the Republicans have wanted nothing more than to destroy Social Security and by any means necessary. They now basically are inventing a crisis for Social Security that will threaten the very livelihood of millions of the country’s most vulnerable.
Their attack plan has been all too apparent:
Scream to high heaven that SS is ‘broken’ and unsustainable;
Work to break it by borrowing from it to fund, for example, unnecessary wars, etc.;
Tell the public, “See! Social Security is broken.”;
Hand it over to billionaires to gamble with as it suits them;
AND…if they win, they win and if you lose, they win.
______________ It’s Same Sh*t Different Day for the GOP.
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He described it as the GOP’s effort to “normalize the discussion and debate about Social Security.”
Near candor. It’s actually all about normalizing discussions about either cutting benefits, funnelling Trust Fund money into the pockets of hedge fund managers or, preferably, both. And, so far, they’re doing a pretty good job of convincing people that a) Something Must Be Done! and b) “Something” can never, ever, ever include lifting the cap on income subject to FICA taxes. It’s the normal CW inside the Beltway Cocktail Weenie Sucker Circuit. The only thing that’s stopped it so far is that last pesky vestigial remnant of democracy they’re trying so hard to stamp out.
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Back during the administration of W the Republicans floated the idea of privatizing SS. It went over like a lead balloon. The target here is SS disability. The disabled don’t have the political clout to protect themselves, especially if the Democrats refuse to lift a finger.
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Many of those deluded voters are already on Social Security and don’t think anything will happen to their benefits. If there is a hell repubs will be rotting there.
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To some extent, i personally don’t have a big problem with means testing. If Mitt Romney is declared ineligible for Social Security, that would be a big win for the rest of the country! If Wall Street ponzi schemers are declared ineligible for Social Security because they steal too much money in the course of their careers, the better for all of us who actually need that money in our retirement. Democrats should turn this dicsussion into the battle of income inequality. No Social Secity for millionaires and billionairs. They would still pay into the system because United We Stand! Americans stand up for each other in our times of need. We are unified in our support for All Americans, and not only for those who don’t need the support of our nation. If you’re rich enough not to need Social Security during your retirement, you don’t get it. You provide your contributions to those who do.
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One way to get folks to wake up is to let them know what will happen. Young folks will have to support their parents and grandparents. Folks without kids will be shit out of luck and end up in a poorhouse. I really think too many folks have been brainwashed and propagandized by the repubs for the last 30+ years. Also if the repubs keep scaring people, I know a lot of folks who will apply for Social Security sooner rather than later. Wake up folks. You’ve been had again.
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There’s a lot going on here. The Republican strategy of destroying things, then blaming others loudly clearly works, so they’re sticking with it. And it works through the ignorance and apathy of the voters. The small rabid conservative base votes every year, even for the tiniest of local elections. The small rabid “progressive” base only votes every four years because they think the President is magic and will fix everything.
A large majority of the Republican base is old people, and the very first thing Republicans did was attack Social Security. But a little over a year from now, when the crisis comes around, those people will believe anything Fox News says.
Killing Social Security doesn’t help anyone who isn’t wealthy. So it’s more proof who they’re working for. But, as I said above, it’s proof that will be ignored, because of confirmation bias.
All I can hope is that someone like Elizabeth Warren or Al Franken will take this cause on, and articulate the problem in terms that will get the people who call themselves progressive to understand.
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The oft-cited problem with means testing is that it would change SS from an insurance program into a welfare program, making it politically easier to cut. This is also the danger of removing the cap entirely. However, the cap can be raised to ensure the health of the system forever.
As someone suggested in another thread, the cap should be set at whatever Congress pays itself.
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They did ok in 2004-05.
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Just finished reading “Truman” by David McCullogh. Truman’s surprise victory over Tom Dewey was a particularly hard blow to Republicans who, more than anything, wanted to completely overturn the New Deal.
“'Ya know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient. Workers. People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork; and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime, and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now, they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your fucking retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. 'Ya know something? They’ll get it! They’ll get it all from you sooner or later, 'cuz they own this fucking place. It’s a big club - and you ain’t in it! You and I are not in “The Big Club”! The table is tilted folks! The game is rigged!” - George Carlin
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My parents,now gone for years, were ardent FDR Democrats. It was a major reason they voted for Dems over the years.
They knew, and used to warn friends and relatives, that the Repubs were out to eat their lunches.
Saint Ronnie hisself used to call it “socialism”. He said the same thing about the UC and Cal State and JC system just before he began its destruction.
I managed to convert ONE Republican to Dem by telling him the history of SS, Medicare and the Repukes efforts to destroy them.
Yep, some folks had better wake up. Hope it’s not too late.
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