Why do Republicans want to destroy Social Security and Medicare?
Today’s Republicans want to avoid political accountability by destroying Social Security and Medicare without leaving clear fingerprints. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Why don’t Social Security and Medicare go through appropriations?
Social Security — the people’s pension — and Medicare — the first step toward universal health insurance for all — do not go through the appropriations process because, as monthly pension payments and medical insurance, they must pay what is owed, not what Congress chooses to spend.
Could Medicare and Social Security be taken away?
That was the case with GOP proposals to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Under these prior proposals, other beneficiaries might have experienced cutbacks in their Medicaid coverage. But the program itself wouldn’t have been taken away. The argument that Medicare or Social Security could be eliminated is even weaker.
Will Social Security and Medicare be a big election issue in 2018?
If Democrats are successful in making the American public aware that the Republicans desire to steal their earned Social Security and Medicare benefits, Social Security and Medicare could well be a potent issue in 2018, when seniors vote in disproportionately large numbers.
Is Social Security being eliminated?
Introduction. As a result of changes to Social Security enacted in 1983, benefits are now expected to be payable in full on a timely basis until 2037, when the trust fund reserves are projected to become exhausted.
Which president took money from Social Security?
President Lyndon B. Johnson1.STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT UPON MAKING PUBLIC THE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON AGING--FEBRUARY 9, 19648.LETTER TO THE NATION'S FIRST SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARY INFORMING HER OF INCREASED BENEFITS--SEPTEMBER 6, 196515 more rows
Did Congress pass Social Security?
The Ways & Means Committee Report on the Social Security Act was introduced in the House on April 4, 1935 and debate began on April 11th. After several days of debate, the bill was passed in the House on April 19, 1935 by a vote of 372 yeas, 33 nays, 2 present, and 25 not voting.
What Year Will Social Security run out?
2034Social Security benefits, which aid more than 65 million Americans through monthly payments, are broken down into two key components: retirement benefits and disability benefits. Retirement funds are expected to run dry by 2034, a one-year improvement since the last report.
Why is Social Security running out?
“Social Security's cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010.” “The year when the combined trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted, if Congress does not act before then, is 2035 -- one year later than last year's projection,” the SSA added.
What is the Social Security Fairness Act of 2021?
Introduced in House (01/04/2021) This bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.
How much money has the government borrowed from the Social Security fund?
The total amount borrowed was $17.5 billion.
Who has social security number 1?
This particular record, (055-09-0001) belonged to John D. Sweeney, Jr., age 23, of New Rochelle, New York. The next day, newspapers around the country announced that Sweeney had been issued the first SSN.
What is the Republican claim that they are simply seeking to save Social Security and Medicare?
Republican claims that they are simply seeking to save Social Security and Medicare is the same Orwellian language used during the Vietnam War, when a military officer claimed that a village had to be destroyed in order to save it. Similarly, when today’s Republicans talk of “saving” Social Security and Medicare, ...
What are the Republicans' obsessions with Medicare?
The Republican Obsession With Dismantling Social Security And Medicare. Today’s Republicans want to avoid political accountability by destroying Social Security and Medicare without leaving clear fingerprints. The Republicans are desperate to destroy Social Security and Medicare. These two programs demonstrate government at its best.
Why does Medicare not go through the appropriations process?
Social Security — the people’s pension — and Medicare — the first step toward universal health insurance for all — do not go through the appropriations process because, as monthly pension payments and medical insurance, they must pay what is owed, not what Congress chooses to spend. If Social Security and Medicare were subject to the whims ...
What are the two programs that Republicans want to destroy?
The Republicans are desperate to destroy Social Security and Medicare. These two programs demonstrate government at its best. The federal government runs these two extremely popular programs more efficiently, universally, securely, and effectively than the private sector does with its alternatives — or indeed could, ...
Do Medicare and Social Security need to be fixed?
The reality is that Social Security and Medicare don’t need fixing. They can and should be expanded, but they work fine, having stood the test of time. And, most assuredly, neither Social Security nor Medicare need saving.
Do Republican politicians want to destroy Medicare?
Republican politicians understand how popular Social Security and Medicare are. Yet they desperately want to destroy the programs, which put the lie to their anti-government agenda by illustrating clearly that there are some tasks that government does much better then the private sector.
Do Democrats want to cut Medicare?
For that to happen, Democrats must be united in their fight against all Social Security and Medicare cuts and all stealth efforts to accomplish the same result indirectly. The Democratic Party must stand clearly and forcefully in favor of expanding, not cutting, Social Security and Medicare.
Republicans Plan to Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
Robert Reich explains the longtime Republican plan to slash Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Fmr. GOP congressman: Why I changed my mind on Obamacare
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How many people are receiving Social Security above the poverty line?
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill have an understanding of the importance that Social Security plays in keeping some 22 million people currently receiving benefits above the federal poverty line.
How long has Social Security been borrowed?
However, the truth of the matter is that Congress has been able to "borrow" Social Security's excess cash (i.e., asset reserves) for five decades, and it's happened under every single president over that stretch.
When will the 67 age limit be increased?
Currently, set to peak at age 67 for those born in 2022 or later, Republicans would like to see this gradually increased to as high as age 70. This would require retired workers to either wait longer to receive their full payout, or to accept a steeper monthly reduction if claiming early.
Does means testing reduce Social Security?
Some Republicans, including Donald Trump, have called for a form of means-testing, which would reduce or eliminate Social Security benefit payments for those folks or couples who are wealthy.
Did the Republican Party steal Social Security money?
Another misconception is that the Republican Party stole money from the Social Security Trust and used it to fund wars. More specifically, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush have come under intense scrutiny for borrowing from Social Security and "not putting the money back."
Is Social Security inflection point?
According to the report, Social Security is facing an inflection point this year. For the first time since 1982, aggregate expenditures, which almost entirely includes benefits, but also takes into account administrative expenses and Railroad Retirement exchange contributions, will exceed revenue generated.
Is Social Security the most important social program?
Social Security is unquestionably the nation's most important social program, with more than three out of five current retired workers leaning on it to account for at least half of their monthly income. Yet, this crucial program is on shaky ground, with the latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees painting a grim ...
When did Ryan say the House passed the biggest entitlement reform bill?
The release quotes Ryan at a subsequent press conference on March 20, 2018, saying, "The House passed the biggest entitlement reform bill Congress has ever considered last year, and regrettably the Senate did not follow suit. So we’re just going to have to keep at it on entitlements.".
Why didn't McConnell say entitlement reforms?
22, 2017, that he does not plan to bring up entitlement reforms in the current environment due to a lack of bipartisan agreement on the sensitive issue.
Did Wyden say Republicans are taking away Medicare?
Wyden said, "Republicans in Congress are plotting to take away Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.". Some key Republicans, including Ryan, have long argued in favor of overhauling entitlement programs such as these by reducing the amount of money spent on them. However, no Republican proposal has been made to "take away" any ...
What year did Republicans oppose Social Security?
1935: Almost all Republicans in Congress oppose the creation of Social Security. 1939: 75 percent of Republicans in Senate try to kill legislation providing Social Security benefits to dependents and survivors as well as retired workers.
What are the cuts to the Social Security?
The cuts include a reduction in early retirement benefit; tight ened disability eligibility standards; delay in the 1982 cost-of-living adjustment and a 10 percent eventual reduction in benefits for all new retirees. (The U.S. Senate repudiated the President’s proposals by a vote of 96 to 0.)
What was the Social Security cut in 1981?
1981: President Reagan proposes $35 billion in Social Security cuts over the next 5 years. The cuts would have included the elimination of student benefits, lump-sum death benefits, and a retroactive elimination of the $122 minimum benefit for three million recipients. (Congress ultimately enacted $24 billion of the proposed cuts.)
What percentage of Republicans voted against payroll tax increase in 1977?
1977: 58 percent of Senate votes against amendment to provide semiannual increases. 1977: 88 percent of Republicans in House and 63 percent in Senate vote against an increase in Social Security payroll tax needed to keep the system solvent.
How many families were removed from the Social Security rolls in 1981?
Ultimately, at least 106,000 families were removed from the rolls. 1981: 99 percent of Republicans in House and 98 percent in Senate vote for legislation containing $22 billion in Social Security and Medicare cuts.
What year did Social Security become voluntary?
1964: Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and future president Ronald Reagan both suggest that Social Security be made voluntary. 1965: 93 percent of Republicans in House and 62 percent in Senate vote to kill Medicare. 1977: 58 percent of Senate votes against amendment to provide semiannual increases.
Who is taking aim at Medicare and Social Security?
Wayne Gilchrest: GOP takes aim at Social Security, Medicare. Now Republicans are coming after Social Security and Medicare with President Trump’s signature on an executive order that slashes the funding for these two programs.
How many Americans rely on the ACA?
More than 20 million Americans rely upon ACA for their healthcare coverage which protects against the threat of preexisting conditions. Like the deferred payroll tax deduction, the impact of the Republican case to kill Obamacare will not be felt until after the election, when the Supreme Court issues its decision.
Does Trump have the constitutional authority to do that?
But Trump does not have the constitutional authority to do that. He knows nothing about how our three branches of government work. He knows even less about the lives of people without golden toilets or multiple days off to golf. If Trump and his Republican Senate enablers succeed, this would gut America’s Social Security and Medicare programs.
Is Medicare a benefit?
Social Security and Medicare are not “benefits,” — they are entitlements that working Americans have funded through decades of hard work by their own payroll tax deductions. Now, with the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump has deferred the payroll tax deduction so that workers can get bigger paychecks now - before an election.
How many people will receive Social Security in 2035?
According to the latest Social Security Board of Trustees report, the program that currently pays benefits to more than 63 million people a month , and to which 62% of retired workers lean on for at least half of their monthly payout, is set to completely exhaust its nearly $2.9 trillion in asset reserves by 2035.
When will the retirement age peak?
Here's the problem: Since the program was incepted in 1935, and through 2022, which is when the full retirement age (also known as "normal retirement age") will peak at age 67, the full retirement age will have increased by just two years -- from age 65 to 67. Yet, longevity has grown at a much faster pace, ...
How much earned income was exempt from payroll tax in 2016?
Back in 1983, a little over $300 billion in earned income escaped the payroll tax by being above the tax cap. However, by 2016, $1.2 trillion in earnings were exempted from the payroll tax.
What is the full retirement age?
Your full retirement age is the age at which you become eligible to receive 100% of your monthly payout, as determined by your birth year.
Will Social Security continue to pay out over time?
Even with added taxation on the wealthy, it's unclear if Social Security could support the current payout schedule over a long period of time if people continue to live longer and pull benefits for decades at a time.
Is Social Security going bankrupt?
Now, there is good news -- namely, that the Social Security program isn't going bankrupt, even if it somehow burns through every last cent of its asset reserves. The program has two recurring sources of revenue -- the 12.4% payroll tax on earned income of up to $132,900 (as of 2019) and the taxation of Social Security benefits -- which ensure ...