Social Security & Medicare Didn’t Cause our Budget Mess
The Congressional Super Committee held it’s first hearing today. CBO Director Doug Elmendorf testified about the budget deficit and warned the U.S. won?t be able to keep up its spending programs and policies while keeping current tax policies in place. As expected, fiscal hawks continued to try and blame our fiscal failure on programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security today while sticking to their pledge to ignore the revenue side of any deficit reduction equation.It’s going to be a long few months.Here’s today’s reaction from our President/CEO, Max Richtman:
?It?s clear, after listening to statements made by many members of the Deficit Super Committee today, that cutting Medicare, Medicaid and even Social Security, to cut the deficit remains their primary goal. Repeated statements that these programs are the primary drivers of our current debt, contrary to the facts, do a disservice to the process and impede finding real solutions to the real problems. Conflating current debt and future obligations is a political strategy designed to target these programs to pay the price for years of failed fiscal policies and tax cuts for the wealthy. America?s workers, especially the baby boomers, built up a $2.6 trillion dollar Social Security trust fund to pay for their future retirement. In fact, the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office show that Social Security can pay full benefits through the year 2038 and slightly more than 80 percent of scheduled benefits in subsequent years. The challenges facing Medicare are more immediate. Solutions are needed to bring down the high cost of healthcare system-wide, however, benefit cuts for seniors is not a remedy. Lumping Social Security and Medicare together, while ignoring the true drivers of our current debt, puts politics over policy and turns this Deficit Reduction Committee into nothing more than an entitlement chop-shop. That is not what the American people expect or will accept in the name of deficit reduction.? Max Richtman, President/CEO
Payroll Tax Cuts Threaten Social Security’s Promise
Here is our reaction to President Obama’s jobs address:
“Putting Americans back to work is critical to our economic recovery. It’s unfortunate that for most of this year Washington’s attention has been diverted to deficit reduction rather than finding ways to stimulate our still flagging economy, which will itself reduce the deficit. We applaud President Obama for refocusing our national attention to where it should be–economic recovery–while offering relief that many Americans desperately need. We agree wholeheartedly with the President, the time to act is now and we hope Congress will move quickly to make job creation priority #1. Putting Americans back to work is also critical to keeping Social Security and Medicare strong. However, this proposal to extend and expand the payroll tax cut threatens Social Security’s independence by forcing the program to compete for limited federal dollars from general revenues, and by breaking the link between contributions and benefits. As we predicted back in December, there’s no such thing as a temporary tax cut. Just months after being reassured that diverting contributions from Social Security would last for just one year, Congress is now being asked to extend and even increase this diversion of payroll taxes for another year. Doubling-down by also cutting employer contributions greatly worsens the situation, and makes it even hard to restore the Social Security system to self-financing. If this extension passes, there is no guarantee that Congress won’t be asked to extend it yet again, for a 3rd or even a 4th year or longer, and expand it even more, making it a de facto permanent part of the tax code. This is death by a thousand cuts. Social Security is paid for, earned by and promised to American workers. We call on the President and the Congress to reaffirm the fact that Social Security has been, is, and will continue to be, a self-financed insurance program; and that this temporary payroll tax cut does not constitute a precedent that would undermine this principle.” Max Richtman, NCPSSM President/CEO
Debt Super Committee Begins Work
The twelve members of Congress? so-called ?Super Committee? held their first public meeting today. It was largely a pro-forma type event with opening statements all around and the approval of the committee?s rules.The Committee will meet again next week to hear from the Congressional Budget Office and could also schedule meetings with the Chairs of two other deficit panels, Bowles/Simpson and Rivlin/Domenici to hear about their proposals. The committee co-chairmen also said they may also go behind closed doors on ?important issues?. It?s hard to imagine what wouldn?t qualify as an ?important? issue given the enormity of the panel?s mission. The National Journal reports:
Not all of the meetings and discussions of the 12-member super committee on deficit reduction will be conducted in public, the two leaders said on Thursday, despite calls from colleagues that the panel?s work all be done in open session.Co-chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., echoing fellow co-chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said, ?We looked at how House and Senate committees operate, and we worked together to make sure this committee met publicly, but also had the ability to meet just among members to discuss important issues.?The committee?s official deadline to report out recommendations for deficit reduction is Nov. 23, but Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said realistically the panel needs to complete its work by the end of October in order to have a final product by Thanksgiving.As the meeting was getting under way, more than a dozen protesters interrupted with chants of ?What do we want? Jobs! When do we need ?em? NOW!? The chants caused Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., to stop speaking, and the meeting paused briefly as staff struggled to block out the noise.
A common theme throughout today?s testimony was also ?we don?t have to start from scratch? with some urging their ?Super Committee? colleagues to pick up where other deficit reduction groups left off. Democrat Chris Van Holen even suggested reports provided by the Fiscal Commission and fiscal hawks Alice Rivlin and Pete Domenici should be a ?framework? because they provided ?a balanced approach?. Given that Bowles/Simpson proposed savings through 2/3 budget cuts and 1/3 revenue increases, that strikes us as far from the type of ?balance? expected by most Americans. Both reports also included major changes to Social Security with Rivlin/Domenici including Medicare premium and cost sharing changes that would be devastating for seniors. Balanced, really?Time will tell what Washington?s idea of shared sacrifice really means. Meanwhile, President Obama will make a desperately needed pivot to the issue of job creation in an address to the Joint Session of Congress tonight at 7:00pm.
Esther Says What You’ve Been Thinking – in New NCPSSM Social Security Video
Esther Lenett is a National Committee member who lives in Maryland. She’s 93 years old and depends on Social Security. She’s one of those wonderful people who you can count on to tell it like it is. We’re so glad she agreed to talk to us about Social Security, the new Debt Committee and Washington’s rush to play “let’s make a deal” with the future of millions of American workers.We all know people just like Esther who have an important story to tell…if only, Washington will listen.Take a minute, watch Esther’s video and share it with your friends.
Repetition of a Lie Does Not Make it True
Explaining Social Security?s financing mechanisms to the average person just isn?t easy. That fact is one reason why conservatives for years have, somewhat successfully, persuaded too many to believe that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme?regardless of the facts. Kudos to Mother Jones for making yet another run at explaining why Social Security is absolutely not a Ponzi scheme. We urge our readers to print this one out, learn it, and arm yourself so that you caneducate the next person you hear who makes this ridiculous claim.We?d also suggest you make this an election day litmus test because as we?ve said again and again and MJ says so well here:?anyone who says that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme either misunderstands Social Security, misunderstands Ponzi schemes, is deliberately lying, or some combination of those ?
A Venn Diagram for Rick Perry: Social Security Is Not a Ponzi Scheme
On Saturday, Texas Gov.Rick Perry told a group of voters that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and a “monstrous lie” to younger Americans. It’s not the first time the GOP presidential candidate has made such claims. The Texas governor also described SocialSecurity as a Ponzi scheme in his 2010 book, “Fed Up!,” and has argued the program is unconstitutional and could be handed over to the states.When politicians make clearly false claims, reporters have an obligation to explain to readers why those claims are false?or at least quote someone who can. I would suggest political scientist Jonathan Bernstein:Very simple: anyone who says that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme either misunderstands Social Security, misunderstands Ponzi schemes, is deliberately lying, or some combination of those… After all, a Ponzi scheme is a deliberate fraud. Saying that Social Security is financed like a Ponzi scheme is factually wrong, but saying that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme or is like a Ponzi scheme is basically a false accusation of fraud against the US government and the politicians who have supported Social Security over the years.Andrew Sullivan’s readers also have a number of good reasons why Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme. The Social Security Administration also has a good webpage explaining why SocialSecurity is not a Ponzi scheme. But I find that charts often make understanding things easier, so here’s a Venn diagram I made that explains some of the differences and similarities between Social Security and a Ponzi scheme:
Social Security & Medicare Didn’t Cause our Budget Mess
The Congressional Super Committee held it’s first hearing today. CBO Director Doug Elmendorf testified about the budget deficit and warned the U.S. won?t be able to keep up its spending programs and policies while keeping current tax policies in place. As expected, fiscal hawks continued to try and blame our fiscal failure on programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security today while sticking to their pledge to ignore the revenue side of any deficit reduction equation.It’s going to be a long few months.Here’s today’s reaction from our President/CEO, Max Richtman:
?It?s clear, after listening to statements made by many members of the Deficit Super Committee today, that cutting Medicare, Medicaid and even Social Security, to cut the deficit remains their primary goal. Repeated statements that these programs are the primary drivers of our current debt, contrary to the facts, do a disservice to the process and impede finding real solutions to the real problems. Conflating current debt and future obligations is a political strategy designed to target these programs to pay the price for years of failed fiscal policies and tax cuts for the wealthy. America?s workers, especially the baby boomers, built up a $2.6 trillion dollar Social Security trust fund to pay for their future retirement. In fact, the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office show that Social Security can pay full benefits through the year 2038 and slightly more than 80 percent of scheduled benefits in subsequent years. The challenges facing Medicare are more immediate. Solutions are needed to bring down the high cost of healthcare system-wide, however, benefit cuts for seniors is not a remedy. Lumping Social Security and Medicare together, while ignoring the true drivers of our current debt, puts politics over policy and turns this Deficit Reduction Committee into nothing more than an entitlement chop-shop. That is not what the American people expect or will accept in the name of deficit reduction.? Max Richtman, President/CEO
Payroll Tax Cuts Threaten Social Security’s Promise
Here is our reaction to President Obama’s jobs address:
“Putting Americans back to work is critical to our economic recovery. It’s unfortunate that for most of this year Washington’s attention has been diverted to deficit reduction rather than finding ways to stimulate our still flagging economy, which will itself reduce the deficit. We applaud President Obama for refocusing our national attention to where it should be–economic recovery–while offering relief that many Americans desperately need. We agree wholeheartedly with the President, the time to act is now and we hope Congress will move quickly to make job creation priority #1. Putting Americans back to work is also critical to keeping Social Security and Medicare strong. However, this proposal to extend and expand the payroll tax cut threatens Social Security’s independence by forcing the program to compete for limited federal dollars from general revenues, and by breaking the link between contributions and benefits. As we predicted back in December, there’s no such thing as a temporary tax cut. Just months after being reassured that diverting contributions from Social Security would last for just one year, Congress is now being asked to extend and even increase this diversion of payroll taxes for another year. Doubling-down by also cutting employer contributions greatly worsens the situation, and makes it even hard to restore the Social Security system to self-financing. If this extension passes, there is no guarantee that Congress won’t be asked to extend it yet again, for a 3rd or even a 4th year or longer, and expand it even more, making it a de facto permanent part of the tax code. This is death by a thousand cuts. Social Security is paid for, earned by and promised to American workers. We call on the President and the Congress to reaffirm the fact that Social Security has been, is, and will continue to be, a self-financed insurance program; and that this temporary payroll tax cut does not constitute a precedent that would undermine this principle.” Max Richtman, NCPSSM President/CEO
Debt Super Committee Begins Work
The twelve members of Congress? so-called ?Super Committee? held their first public meeting today. It was largely a pro-forma type event with opening statements all around and the approval of the committee?s rules.The Committee will meet again next week to hear from the Congressional Budget Office and could also schedule meetings with the Chairs of two other deficit panels, Bowles/Simpson and Rivlin/Domenici to hear about their proposals. The committee co-chairmen also said they may also go behind closed doors on ?important issues?. It?s hard to imagine what wouldn?t qualify as an ?important? issue given the enormity of the panel?s mission. The National Journal reports:
Not all of the meetings and discussions of the 12-member super committee on deficit reduction will be conducted in public, the two leaders said on Thursday, despite calls from colleagues that the panel?s work all be done in open session.Co-chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., echoing fellow co-chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said, ?We looked at how House and Senate committees operate, and we worked together to make sure this committee met publicly, but also had the ability to meet just among members to discuss important issues.?The committee?s official deadline to report out recommendations for deficit reduction is Nov. 23, but Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said realistically the panel needs to complete its work by the end of October in order to have a final product by Thanksgiving.As the meeting was getting under way, more than a dozen protesters interrupted with chants of ?What do we want? Jobs! When do we need ?em? NOW!? The chants caused Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., to stop speaking, and the meeting paused briefly as staff struggled to block out the noise.
A common theme throughout today?s testimony was also ?we don?t have to start from scratch? with some urging their ?Super Committee? colleagues to pick up where other deficit reduction groups left off. Democrat Chris Van Holen even suggested reports provided by the Fiscal Commission and fiscal hawks Alice Rivlin and Pete Domenici should be a ?framework? because they provided ?a balanced approach?. Given that Bowles/Simpson proposed savings through 2/3 budget cuts and 1/3 revenue increases, that strikes us as far from the type of ?balance? expected by most Americans. Both reports also included major changes to Social Security with Rivlin/Domenici including Medicare premium and cost sharing changes that would be devastating for seniors. Balanced, really?Time will tell what Washington?s idea of shared sacrifice really means. Meanwhile, President Obama will make a desperately needed pivot to the issue of job creation in an address to the Joint Session of Congress tonight at 7:00pm.
Esther Says What You’ve Been Thinking – in New NCPSSM Social Security Video
Esther Lenett is a National Committee member who lives in Maryland. She’s 93 years old and depends on Social Security. She’s one of those wonderful people who you can count on to tell it like it is. We’re so glad she agreed to talk to us about Social Security, the new Debt Committee and Washington’s rush to play “let’s make a deal” with the future of millions of American workers.We all know people just like Esther who have an important story to tell…if only, Washington will listen.Take a minute, watch Esther’s video and share it with your friends.
Repetition of a Lie Does Not Make it True
Explaining Social Security?s financing mechanisms to the average person just isn?t easy. That fact is one reason why conservatives for years have, somewhat successfully, persuaded too many to believe that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme?regardless of the facts. Kudos to Mother Jones for making yet another run at explaining why Social Security is absolutely not a Ponzi scheme. We urge our readers to print this one out, learn it, and arm yourself so that you caneducate the next person you hear who makes this ridiculous claim.We?d also suggest you make this an election day litmus test because as we?ve said again and again and MJ says so well here:?anyone who says that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme either misunderstands Social Security, misunderstands Ponzi schemes, is deliberately lying, or some combination of those ?
A Venn Diagram for Rick Perry: Social Security Is Not a Ponzi Scheme
On Saturday, Texas Gov.Rick Perry told a group of voters that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and a “monstrous lie” to younger Americans. It’s not the first time the GOP presidential candidate has made such claims. The Texas governor also described SocialSecurity as a Ponzi scheme in his 2010 book, “Fed Up!,” and has argued the program is unconstitutional and could be handed over to the states.When politicians make clearly false claims, reporters have an obligation to explain to readers why those claims are false?or at least quote someone who can. I would suggest political scientist Jonathan Bernstein:Very simple: anyone who says that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme either misunderstands Social Security, misunderstands Ponzi schemes, is deliberately lying, or some combination of those… After all, a Ponzi scheme is a deliberate fraud. Saying that Social Security is financed like a Ponzi scheme is factually wrong, but saying that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme or is like a Ponzi scheme is basically a false accusation of fraud against the US government and the politicians who have supported Social Security over the years.Andrew Sullivan’s readers also have a number of good reasons why Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme. The Social Security Administration also has a good webpage explaining why SocialSecurity is not a Ponzi scheme. But I find that charts often make understanding things easier, so here’s a Venn diagram I made that explains some of the differences and similarities between Social Security and a Ponzi scheme: