Those years will be a lot more good if he’s in the senate majority and/or there is a gop’er in the white house, next opportunity for both being 2025. So yes, there is a penalty to Moscow Ron for going after social security & medicare.
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Sen Scott “honest.”
Now that’s funny.
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The democratic voters of wisconsin chose him, and with very little out of state support, he came within 1.0% of upsetting an incumbent. Pretty strong candidate.
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I have a Wisconsinite friend who tried to warn her mother and father-in-law(SS dependent, of course) about Johnson’s plans for SS before the last election. They refused to believe her–she’s a Democrat-- and voted for him anyway. What is wrong with people?? That’s a rhetorical question, of course.
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Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) agrees with Johnson. Braun said Scott “is concerned about saving” entitlement programs, “not sunsetting it in the sense of getting rid of it. If we want it there for future generations, we’ll have to do something to keep it alive.”
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Borderline o-t
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I have always wondered exactly what the motivation is to cut both Medicare and Social Security. Medicare is easy to see. The interests behind doing so are obviously interested in profiteering.
Social Security, I am not so clear on. The one thing that they have traditionally said, with zero detail, is allowing people to invest their contribution in the private market partially or completely in lieu of traditional social security. The way I see this, they are trying to move that wealth back into the market where they can get their grubby paws on it. I realize that is simplistic in my thinking.
So what is the motivation as a whole.
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The words of Andrew Mellon, “In a depression, wealth flows back to it’s natural owners.”
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Social Security and Medicare are the highest-value hostages in Scott’s plan to let every Senator hold every appropriation hostage at least one per term.
Nobody should entertain this flagrant power grab for half a second. Not even, or especially not, the Republican House. How’d you like to be McQarthy herding cats for 6 weeks only to have one or three tool Senators blow the whole thing up time after time.
McQarthy should be front and center calling this flagrant Scott Senate power grab DOA if he were smart.
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“The leader ought to be supportive of our incumbents,” Johnson said, according to Punchbowl News. “Sen. Scott’s done a good job in Florida. I think Floridians appreciate the fact that he’s forthright and honest with them. And I know from my personal involvement with Sen. Scott, his only interest is in saving those programs.”
“got a feeling '24 is going to be a weird year, especially if…”
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Shouts from Republican congressional caucus to the media: “Nobody here wants to cut Social Security!”
After a moment of quiet, Ron Johnson, in the back, raises his hand. “I do, I do! And so does Rick Scott!” Rick Scott: “Damned straight.” Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell make sad faces. Rick Scott: “And so does Mike Lee!” Mike Lee: “I admit that’s technically correct. But c’mon, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) also does. He released a blueprint for cutting Social Security last year, supported by 3/4 of the House GOP caucus.” Rep. Hern: “That’s a lie.”* Much hubbub and shouting and finger-pointing. Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell make even sadder faces. McCarthy, sotto voce to Steve Scalise: “There goes our chance of cutting Social Security.”
*Actual quote.
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The people’s worthless equity could instead be valuable trading commissions. Also, social security, which operates on just 0.18% overhead while providing joint and survivor benefits and disability benefits in addition to retirement money, is a government program that works, and works much cheaper than its private market equivalents. That’s unpossible, so it has to be killed.
I’d say you’re plenty clear on it.
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What you just said is a HUGE part of what is driving this. Corporations want the investment dollars flowing directly to them.
ALSO…I think there is a need to gut SS and Medicare because they are Democratic and democratic programs. They hate that Dems get the credit. HATE it.
Plus, there’s the kneejerk hatred of all things governmental.
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RoJo is one of the most enthusiastically deliberate tools in the world. Of course he supports Rick Scott’s plan to hold every appropriation hostage at least once in a Senator’s term.
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That too. You can’t drown the Federal government in a bathtub without taking SS and Medicare along with it.
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Just remember the fiasco of the Chilean privatized pension system designed by Milton Friedman’s Chicago Boys.
Six funds set up and they engaged in aggressive advertising to get people to switch from one fund to another.
Why? Because the funds actually charged a penalty when people left one fund to move to another AND they charged an administrative fee when people transferred to another fund so the Stock Market Casino sucked money out of the accounts coming and going–up to 15%.
End result–the privatized accounts were insufficient to provide more than 3 years of retirement and Chile went back to their old system to make up for the insufficiency of the privatized system.
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The rethugs have been pushing Social Security and Medicare “reform” since their creations. What they call reform the Ds need to call elimination. Because the Ds have not brought this to the front in EVERY election is political malpractice. Something we are very good at.
A couple days ago I pontificated on the rethug reliance on the votes of old farts ( I’m one ) and blue collar workers to maintain power. These are the very people their reforms would hurt the most. They are now talking about bumping full benefits to 70. Sure, they promise this won’t hit current recipients but only those in the future. Retirement at 70 won’t be so bad for those sitting on their ass, I was one, but if you do physical work you are wearing out before 55. Ever wonder why all the guys helping you at Builders Square are over 55?
Joe was right to hit them on this. I can only say, “Don’t stop now.”
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Well, that ship has sailed.
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That ship was never built.
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This is hardly surprising behavior for institutional termite Ron Johnson. He’s one of the Senate’s biggest Putinists and a fan of pretend governance and disinformation.
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