Posted on 01/14/2011 5:20:58 AM PST by markomalley
A broad coalition of labor unions and liberal groups has launched an intense lobbying campaign directed at the White House in advance of President Obama’s State of the Union address.
These groups are concerned about Obama’s taciturn response to the proposal by his fiscal commission to gradually increase the retirement age and use a different calculation for cost-of-living adjustments.
Coalition partners held a conference call with liberal bloggers on Thursday afternoon to expand the public-relations campaign directed at the White House and Congress.
The Strengthen Social Security Campaign includes more than 200 member groups such as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, Campaign for America’s Future, National Women’s Law Center, USAction and MoveOn.org.
Many of the groups were members of the Health Care for America Now campaign that worked alongside Obama to push healthcare reform through Congress.
Now that Republicans control the House and Obama is facing reelection, the political dynamic is different and liberal groups fear the president might be willing to cut a deal on Social Security. Labor unions and liberal groups worry Obama could endorse a boost in the retirement age or a change in cost-of-living adjustments when he discusses strategies for reducing the federal deficit later this month.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Why would the unions care? Their member have big fat pensions...........that are going broke?................
The left should not fear about President Obama doing anything to Social Security.
Ponzi schemes collapse on their own.
They SHOULD worry.
It’s pretty clear to me that he hates useless old white people who are still around and collecting benefits.
I’d worry if I were them, too.
No cost of living increase yet under the zero administration's 2 years. How do you go downward from that?
Don't tell me, I already know.
I’ve come to the conclusion that (sheeperal) libs must believe in perpetual motion machines - things that provide their own energy and funding perpetually without input,
because only such a belief could explain their vehement defense of not doing anything to plan for the eventuality of the machine coming to a halt.
I would be willing to opt out of collecting Social Security and they can keep everythig I put into it- if I can stop making payments into it right now.
Medicare and Medicaid too. There is not going to be any health care when I reach that age (at this rate) anyway... so screw it. I am going to prepare a hole in the ground and just tell my family to shovel me into it when I am too old to take care of myself.
I DO NOT want to be in a hospital room connected to IV’s at several thousand dollars per day until I die anyway
The Unions believe the government should control every aspect of people’s lives. Social Security is a big piece of the totalitarian puzzle. Obamacare and CapnTrade are the other two big pieces. Once the Government is all-powerful, it can mandate that ALL JOBS IN THE US ARE UNIONIZED!!! Victory for the communists. End of America.
Why is the left REALLY concerned about Social Security? Are they really concerned about Republicans cutting off benefits to the elderly (which isn’t going to happen), OR are they worried about losing their control over individuals? After all, if We the People seize our right back to save for our own retirement, then we won’t be beholden to Medicare and Social Security in our golden years.
My FRiends, it’s all about control.
***I DO NOT want to be in a hospital room connected to IV’s at several thousand dollars per day until I die anyway***
Tell us about it when you get to old age.
My worry in this is that the president and democrats will try to goad Republicans into taking the lead on “cutting SS & Medicare”. And then when Republicans do take the lead, dems will villify them for it. I hope the Republicans recognize it as a trap. The Republicans should take their clue from the presidents State of the Union speech and his budget. If he encorages SS & Medicare cuts then they can get involved. If not, then they should work to reduce discretionary spending.
Remember, the democrats and public unions get a lot of power from discretionary spending of our tax dollars. If Republicans work to cut entitlements and lose their majority doing so, it will just give the democrats the opportunity to spend more money on the discretionary spending that entrenches them in power.
Avoid the trap, Republicans...let 0bama take the lead on entitlment cuts. Let him tour the country (like Bush did with his SS proposal) trying to encourage everyone to agree to “his proposal” before you jump on the bandwagon.
In the meantime unions are killing jobs and state budgets with their overgenerous benefits and perks.
Yes it’s control. The more you depend on SS money, the more you will be held in check.
Here’s a specific example - Obamacare.
Suppose you don’t like the individual mandate. Currently, even though you’d be fined, they will not open a collections case on you (though this will likely change in the future).
In this case they plan to capture your funds by taking it out of your refund.
So let’s say you set your withholdings such that you owe at the end of the year instead of getting a refund.
Well, the organization that would take it out of your refund, the Financial Management Service, ALSO can take money out of your Social Security checks.
Take that you individual mandate scofflaws!
Where SocSec and Medicare are concerned there are plenty of Freepers who feel pretty much the same way.
They have a sense of entitlement that would do any welfare queen proud.
I have locked horns with so many of them here over the last year, I'm convinced that we will run these programs right into the ground before we cut one penny of the benefits to the "IT'S MY MONEY AND THE GOVERNMENT PROMISED IT TO ME!!!" crowd.
Yeah, like when they were paying it in, they didn’t know it was a Ponzi scheme destined for collapse and that the promises made were of no value.
They just want to get “their” part of it out before it collapses.
Don’t non-government unions people get a pension and SSI? they want their pocket change too!
Correcto mundo...........
Notary: “They have a sense of entitlement that would do any welfare queen proud.”
That’s not really a fair comparison, because a welfare queen has not paid into the system for decades. I’m not saying you’re entirely wrong about Social Security, but let’s not make unfair comparisons between welfare recipients and retirees on Social Security.
And what would Republicans get out of this ‘deal’? Or worse yet, what (else) would they have to give in on to get it?
Republicans walking the plank on SS right now sounds like a bad idea. As with tax cuts ‘for the rich’ Obama would claim that Republicans forced him to cut Social Security.
That is a valid point.
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