105 Democratic Lawmakers Reject Any Social Security Reform

IBD's Capital Hill ^ | 9/30/2010 | Sean Higgins

[Slyscribe]

Democrats calling on the White House to reject Social Security reform may not exactly be news, but this time they’re going beyond the usual, politically motivated allegation that Republicans want to privatize the program and are pushing the White House to preemptively reject even modest proposals such as raising the retirement age or means-testing benefits.

In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Dan Maffei, D-N.Y., announced they had a petition signed by 105 members of Congress pledging opposition to any kind of reform.

[johnthebaptistmoore]

Even better, here’s the partial 2010 “hit list” as well.

[Chattering Class of 58]

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as president of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US.

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?
A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away! And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!

[rlmorel]

If it were that, I wouldn’t care, but...I just don’t think it is going to stop there. I don’t expect to see any of it, so it wouldn’t be any skin of of my back, but I just don’t think our other retirement money will be safe, either. I know it is a pretty grim assessment, but there you have it...

[Buckeye McFrog]

this should be fun to watch as it is largely the purpose for Obama’s deficit commission

[rlmorel]

Great post.

I have said it before, and will say it again: Liberalism has posed and does pose a greater danger to America than any other enemy.

I recall that oath I took when I went into the US Navy:

I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

I think that the part about "domestic enemies" is turning out to be the most relevant one.

[whershey]

There's no problem with this pledge since the death panels from Obamacare will keep the senior population under control.

[Bob Buchholz]

I have never been fazed by the improper use of phased.

You must have gone to school a long time ago when such things mattered. /s

[Cheerio]

True meaning of wealth redistribution. We paid into SS all our lives - if I had my part and my employers part and had invested it in the two mutual funds that I have owned since 1965, I would be a multimillionaire. Now I get $1,600 per month and when I pass on so does SS. IT DOES NOT GO TO MY WIFE OR DAUGHTERS like my own investments do.

[Vigilanteman]

Superb list. If the GOP had any balls, they would turn it into a one minute advertisement and air it wall to wall.

[Bobby_Taxpayer]

How does continuing to let it go bankrupt save it?

Same way as cutting taxes creates an expense to the government! It's all eyewash to leverage peoplse emotions and get votes! Pure and simple.

[Carry_Okie]

Huh? I be duh gran fazeer uh phase!

Speekuh duh peon's Eenglish?

[sickoflibs]

RE :” In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Dan Maffei, D-N.Y., announced they had a petition signed by 105 members of Congress pledging opposition to any kind of reform. (Sanders, while technically an independent, caucuses with the Democrats.)“We strongly believe that cuts to Social Security benefits must not be part of any recommendations or policymaking. We believe that Social Security should never be privatized and that the retirement age should never be raised,” Brown said....
Democrats, mindful of grim polling numbers for the coming election, have been trying to motivate senior voters for weeks now with allegations that Republicans have a secret plan to take their Social Security benefits away, despite a distinct lack of evidence that that is on their agenda. The recent GOP “pledge,” for example, only mentions Social Security once in passing....
Asked by IBD what evidence they had that privatization was on the GOP’s agenda, Sanders cited Rep. Paul Ryan’s, R-Wis., budget reform Roadmap that does include allowing people under 55 to invest in personal retirement accounts rather than traditional Social Security. However, Ryan’s ideas have not been embraced by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, or even a substantial number of the rank and file....Even if Republicans did propose it, the current administration would never approve it anyway, a point Sanders conceded. ”

While I am pretty down on Social Security for being a ponzi welfare scheme, I don't know what Republicans thought they would accomplish by proposing reforming it again. They tried it in 2005 with Bush and it was a political disaster for them. Pelosi still brags about scaring congressional Republicans into running from SS reform.

In fact Obama recently baited the Tea party movement to demand cuts in SS benefits, you see any Republicans using this against him? Read it yourself:
“ So the challenge, I think, for the Tea Party movement is to identify, specifically, what would you do?” he added. “It's not enough just to say get control of spending. I think it's important for you to say, I'm willing to cut veterans’ benefits or I'm willing to cut Medicare or Social Security benefits or I'm willing to see these taxes go up ”
Obama To Tea Party: 'Identify, Specifically, What Would You Do?'

The problem with SS reform is that no deal will ever be possible without raising taxes, and raising taxes specifically for SS makes NO sense when the last time they did that under Reagan, they (both parties) just spent the surplus on other things and left a bunch of worthless IOUs and debt.

Now what Republicans should do is a long process of communication, make clear to voters that (some of) today's SS benefits are being paid by general treasury fund borrowing, as well as taxes on SS benefits (figure that out!). They need to slowly work on people and convince voters that the federal government of either party cannot be trusted with money, that there will ALWAYS be multiple emergencies declared to spend it.

The first thing they should is explain is why SS benefits are being ‘taxed’ to go to the general fund to pay off the IOUs to pay current SS benefits. THIS IS A COMPLETE SCAM!

[stephenjohnbanker]

” The first thing they should is explain is why SS benefits are being ‘taxed’ to go to the general fund to pay off the IOUs to pay current SS benefits. THIS IS A COMPLETE SCAM! “

And Bernie Madoff is fiercely gripping his prison bars screaming out....

H E Y !!

H E Y !!!!

[WAW]

My thoughts exactly.

[Gilbo_3]

mrs g just got her annual ss ‘statement’ in the mail...i LOLd at the fact that that piece of copy paper was worth more than her account in physical money...

[stephenjohnbanker]

Pitiful, ain’t it?

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

My opinion: Neither party will reform entitlements until it is obvious even to the ever growing class of entitlement recipients that there is a limit to the size a parasite, beyond which the host dies. And although Boehner says the GOP will take action after the US public realizes how deadly the danger is, they know he is bluffing. Voters can understand intellectually that Uncle Sugar is broke, but when they see attack ads on TV their gut takes over.

Even if real conservatives took over 100% of the GOP, I think if they actually tried to reform entitlements in any real way, unfortunately, voters would throw them out.

Yeah I know, gloom and doom.

[colonialhk]

Party of NO

[businessprofessor]

“SS will be means tested. If you have enough retirement funds in their opinion, your SS will be given to those who need it.”

It is already means tested in a number of ways. First, Social Security benefits are taxed for anyone who has saved for retirement. This taxation touches even the individual’s contributions even though those contributions were are already taxed. Second, Social Security has a number of welfare aspects that are means tested.

[stephenjohnbanker]

If you retire, and have a yearly income of 100,000, how much can you collect?