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If Congress approves President Obama's budget proposal, it will mark the beginning of the end for the social insurance model that the labor movement and its allies have spent generations establishing and defending. This is the first time that a sitting Democratic President has proposed cuts in Social Security and Medicare. But it won’t be the last. As every shop steward knows, once you agree to put a cherished provision on the table, you open it up to an endless series of cuts and concessions.
The deal the media reports President Obama and Republican John Boehner appear close to striking includes a change to Social Security that amounts to benefit cuts "of more than 5 percent and more as the years go by." And what is “chained CPI”? For millions of seniors living on a fixed income, that 5 percent goes to crucial medicine, food, and daily necessities. And the deal would leave in place some of the Bush Tax Cuts for the top 2% that President Obama previously promised to oppose.
The good news is that we really do have a chance at stopping this bad deal. After Democrats picked up five Senate seats in the election last month, Senate Leader Harry Reid said, "We are not going to mess with Social Security." If we let him and other senators know we've got their backs, we'll have a chance—but we need to act right now.
The above is an excerpt from a MoveOn alert. See also today's Healthcare-NOW newsletter for more information.
Call our Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden right now and ask them:
"Senate Democrats have been vocal opponents of cuts to Social Security benefits. Can I count on you to do everything in your power to stop this deal if it includes the reported cuts to Social Security benefits?"
Contact our Oregon Senators and Representatives today!
By: Kay Tillow Saturday October 6, 2012 2:46 pm
The solution is Improved Medicare for All
After the November election, there will be a major effort in Congress to pass a budget deal that will make cuts in Social Security, raise the Medicare and Social Security eligibility age, and perhaps more–unless we act to stop it with a solution that is close at hand.
There is agreement from the Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel to liberal economists Dean Baker and Paul Krugman that the pressure will be on to reach a Simpson/Bowles type of compromise. Such a bipartisan plan would damage our most cherished programs and excuse the dastardly deed by asserting that the cuts are small and necessary because of the deficit.
Those who relentlessly scream at us and finance ads to persuade us that the deficit threatens our grandchildren are obscuring the truth. The fact is that the transfer of wealth from public funds and the rest of us to the super rich is the real crisis. But those who have gorged themselves on this massive transfer of wealth also seek to undermine the Medicare and Social Security which are our grandchildren’s heritage from generations of struggles for a better life.
The
solution is Improved Medicare for All
by
Kay Tillow, published in My FDL Oct. 6, 2012
After
the November election, there will be a major effort in Congress to
pass a budget deal that will make cuts in Social Security, raise the
Medicare and Social Security eligibility age, and perhaps more–unless
we act to stop it with a solution that is close at hand.
There
is agreement from the Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel to liberal
economists Dean Baker and Paul Krugman that the pressure will be on
to reach a Simpson/Bowles type of compromise. Such a bipartisan
plan would damage our most cherished programs and excuse the
dastardly deed by asserting that the cuts are small and necessary
because of the deficit.
