Will Washington Keep it’s Promise to Seniors?
?After so many months of heated budget partisanship and rhetoric, President Obama confirmed what America?s seniors have known for a lifetime?programs like Social Security and Medicare are investments which help make us the great nation we are today?and should not be sacrificed for deficit reduction. We applaud the President for stating clearly that destroying programs and services which benefit middle class Americans and seniors does not represent the kind of America most of us are proud of. GOP budget proposals which end Medicare as we know it while providing even more tax cuts for the wealthy is not shared sacrifice and America?s seniors understand that.? Barbara B. Kennelly, President/CEOPresident Obama?s budget proposal provides a clear and dramatic contrast with the GOP Budget plan introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan. Under the GOP plan, America?s retirees would go back in time to the day before Medicare was enacted and over one-half of the senior population had no health care coverage at all. President Obama vowed he would not allow the dismantling of Medicare and the shifting of healthcare costs to seniors proposed in the GOP plan.President Obama also acknowledged a basic truth, too often ignored in Washington these days, that Social Security has not caused the current deficit crisis. This fact is exactly why the National Committee, representing millions of members and supporters nationwide, believe Social Security has no place in this deficit reduction debate.?As always, the devil?s in the details being hammered out behind closed doors but America?s seniors should celebrate the fact that there is a budget proposal on the table that better represents the real world our retirees are living in. We will continue to urge Congress to reject any proposals which limit seniors? access to care in Medicare or propose Social Security benefit cuts in the name of deficit reduction. Our work is far from over but at least now fairness for America?s seniors and their families is brought back into the debate.?
Cutting Social Security: A Litmus Test for Leadership
One of our members asked us the other day?”Since when did cutting benefits for seniors living at or near the poverty level become the test of leadership in Washington?? Good question. The truth is, this campaign to cut America?s safety net has been generations in the making and has far more to do with political ideology than our current economic mess. As Paul Ryan says:
“This isn’t a budget. This is a cause.”
But will it be President Obama?s cause too? Media reports say the President will now endorse the recommendations made by Fiscal Commission Co-Chairmen, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson in a speech tomorrow. The Commission Chairmen?s recommendations (issued when it was the clear they couldn?t get the votes for a full Commission report) proposes deep benefit cuts in programs, like Social Security and Medicare. Under this proposal, middle class Americans and seniors will pay the price of Washington?s newfound zeal for deficit reduction. We talked to the Associated Press about our concerns:
?But now that Obama plans to propose his own changes in health care entitlements or Social Security, some of his own supporters are wary. They argue that the president ceded too much ground when he cut a tax deal with Republicans last December and in yielding spending cuts last week. “I want to have confidence, but I’ve got to see something,” said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman and president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group. “They can’t continue to give in.” Many liberals say Obama has not been a strong bargainer. “Their weakness in getting the most out of negotiations is their strategic belief that they don’t want to be seen as fighting, they want to appear above the fray and beyond partisanship,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the labor-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “They also believe that they shouldn’t get out there on a position where they may not succeed. These are characteristics that make for a weak negotiator.”
It?s important that everyone understands what the Bowles/Simpson plan proposes for millions of American Seniors. Here is our analysis of the Commission?s Social Security and Medicare provisions.It?s clear that too many in Washington see Social Security and Medicare primarily as numbers on a balance sheet because ?that?s where they money is.? Cut benefits, raise the retirement age, reduce or eliminate the COLA, means test?these are the tools these budget cutters will use to repair the economic damage caused by years of borrow and spend policies that have absolutely nothing to do with Social Security. Contrary to all this rhetoric?balancing the budget on the backs of seniors is not fiscal responsibility and it?s certainly not political leadership.We will be watching the President closely tomorrow to see if he agrees.
Can You Afford $20,000 More a Year for Healthcare?
Not many people can– but that will be the price tag for seniors if the GOP Budget plan to eliminate Medicare and replace its guaranteed benefit with privatized CouponCare becomes law. The Congressional Budget Office says the GOP vouchers will (by definition) fail to keep pace with increases in health care costs meaning seniors will pay much more for the same benefits they receive now. In fact, according to the CBO, a typical senior will spend more than twice as much of his or her income under the GOP CouponCare plan compared to the current Medicare system.How much will this plan cost you? Here?s a wonderful interactive map, which allows seniors to see the impact of the GOP budget plan on your state. We warn you?the results are shocking:
GOP Plan is “Coupon Care” for Seniors
A Path to Prosperity-Unless you’re under 55, or poor, or widowed, or disabled, or a child who lost a parent, or middle class or have anyone in your family who is or ever will be
It?s clear GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan?s ?Path to Prosperity? budget plan is anything but for the vast majority of working Americans. The alleged core value of ?shared sacrifice? actually means sacrifice for everyone except corporations (especially insurers) and wealthy Americans. The House GOP leadership?s dream for America couldn?t be more clearly defined than in the budget plan unveiled today. More tax breaks for the wealthy and budget cuts for everyone else.
- Eliminate Medicare and replace it with a privatized system where seniors get vouchers (however, Ryan?s new poll-tested language is now ?premium assistance payments?) to pay for health care. In truth, we prefer to call them ?coupons? since they really offer about that much assistance because the whole idea is that the voucher will never actually cover the true costs of healthcare. That?s where the government saves money. Under this scheme, taxpayers will pay insurers to provide less coverage while beneficiaries pick up more of the tab. Congressional Quarterly describes it this way:
?The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reviewed an earlier version of the plan and found it probably would lead to increased costs or reduced benefits for beneficiaries. ?First, most of the savings for Medicare under the proposal stem from reducing the amounts that the federal government would pay for enrollees on a per capita basis,? according to the CBO?s Nov. 17 analysis. ?Second, future beneficiaries would probably face higher premiums in the private market for a package of benefits similar to that currently provided by Medicare.?
- Social Security reforms will be fast-tracked. While the legislative language of Ryan?s plan doesn?t propose specific cuts (allowing them to claim ?we?re not cutting Social Security? before an election year) this legislation does create a new triggering mechanism and fast-tracked process for Social Security cuts which is unprecedented in the history of Congressional budget resolutions. The trigger language in this bill is designed to circumvent the current process in order to mandate fast-tracked reforms through Congress. And since this bill?s summary also rules out revenue changes, such as the most popular option for Social Security reform, raising the payroll tax cap so that the wealthier pay their fair share, what?s left? Benefit cuts. In fact, the Ryan plan?s summary endorses cutting future Social Security benefits for everyone who is earning more than $22,000 a year right now (while they?re working) ? which is the vast majority of Americans.
- Social Security Administration cuts. This budget also assumes a continuation of GOP budget proposals which undermine Social Security by cutting its administrative budget so deep that the SSA can?t process claims in a timely way to serve the public.
- Won?t pay back the Trust Fund. Rep. Ryan?s budget summary denies the federal government?s responsibility to repay the $2.6 trillion Social Security trust fund, built up by payroll contributions from generations of working Americans. This Budget plan states: ?Any value in the balances in the Social Security trust fund is derived from dubious government accounting.?
In other words, it was real money when you paid it into the Trust Fund but now House GOP leaders have declared those dollars just ?dubious government accounting.? Speaking of dubious accounting, some are already raising the red flag on this plan?s manipulation of the numbers.Make no mistake about it, House Republican leaders intend to use the current fiscal crisis, created by decades of borrow and spend policies to justify slashing programs which touch the lives of virtually every American family.This isn?t fiscal responsibility.But it does show just how large the disconnect between House Republican leaders and working Americans truly is because the American people will not support dismantling Medicare or cuts in Social Security. These are not the priorities seniors voted for last November and now?s the time to deliver that message.Take a moment and use our Legislative Action Center to send an email to your members of Congress. It?s easy and all you need to know is your zipcode. We must let Washington know Paul Ryan?s priorities are not America?s priorities.
Will Washington Keep it’s Promise to Seniors?
?After so many months of heated budget partisanship and rhetoric, President Obama confirmed what America?s seniors have known for a lifetime?programs like Social Security and Medicare are investments which help make us the great nation we are today?and should not be sacrificed for deficit reduction. We applaud the President for stating clearly that destroying programs and services which benefit middle class Americans and seniors does not represent the kind of America most of us are proud of. GOP budget proposals which end Medicare as we know it while providing even more tax cuts for the wealthy is not shared sacrifice and America?s seniors understand that.? Barbara B. Kennelly, President/CEOPresident Obama?s budget proposal provides a clear and dramatic contrast with the GOP Budget plan introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan. Under the GOP plan, America?s retirees would go back in time to the day before Medicare was enacted and over one-half of the senior population had no health care coverage at all. President Obama vowed he would not allow the dismantling of Medicare and the shifting of healthcare costs to seniors proposed in the GOP plan.President Obama also acknowledged a basic truth, too often ignored in Washington these days, that Social Security has not caused the current deficit crisis. This fact is exactly why the National Committee, representing millions of members and supporters nationwide, believe Social Security has no place in this deficit reduction debate.?As always, the devil?s in the details being hammered out behind closed doors but America?s seniors should celebrate the fact that there is a budget proposal on the table that better represents the real world our retirees are living in. We will continue to urge Congress to reject any proposals which limit seniors? access to care in Medicare or propose Social Security benefit cuts in the name of deficit reduction. Our work is far from over but at least now fairness for America?s seniors and their families is brought back into the debate.?
Cutting Social Security: A Litmus Test for Leadership
One of our members asked us the other day?”Since when did cutting benefits for seniors living at or near the poverty level become the test of leadership in Washington?? Good question. The truth is, this campaign to cut America?s safety net has been generations in the making and has far more to do with political ideology than our current economic mess. As Paul Ryan says:
“This isn’t a budget. This is a cause.”
But will it be President Obama?s cause too? Media reports say the President will now endorse the recommendations made by Fiscal Commission Co-Chairmen, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson in a speech tomorrow. The Commission Chairmen?s recommendations (issued when it was the clear they couldn?t get the votes for a full Commission report) proposes deep benefit cuts in programs, like Social Security and Medicare. Under this proposal, middle class Americans and seniors will pay the price of Washington?s newfound zeal for deficit reduction. We talked to the Associated Press about our concerns:
?But now that Obama plans to propose his own changes in health care entitlements or Social Security, some of his own supporters are wary. They argue that the president ceded too much ground when he cut a tax deal with Republicans last December and in yielding spending cuts last week. “I want to have confidence, but I’ve got to see something,” said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman and president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group. “They can’t continue to give in.” Many liberals say Obama has not been a strong bargainer. “Their weakness in getting the most out of negotiations is their strategic belief that they don’t want to be seen as fighting, they want to appear above the fray and beyond partisanship,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the labor-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “They also believe that they shouldn’t get out there on a position where they may not succeed. These are characteristics that make for a weak negotiator.”
It?s important that everyone understands what the Bowles/Simpson plan proposes for millions of American Seniors. Here is our analysis of the Commission?s Social Security and Medicare provisions.It?s clear that too many in Washington see Social Security and Medicare primarily as numbers on a balance sheet because ?that?s where they money is.? Cut benefits, raise the retirement age, reduce or eliminate the COLA, means test?these are the tools these budget cutters will use to repair the economic damage caused by years of borrow and spend policies that have absolutely nothing to do with Social Security. Contrary to all this rhetoric?balancing the budget on the backs of seniors is not fiscal responsibility and it?s certainly not political leadership.We will be watching the President closely tomorrow to see if he agrees.
Can You Afford $20,000 More a Year for Healthcare?
Not many people can– but that will be the price tag for seniors if the GOP Budget plan to eliminate Medicare and replace its guaranteed benefit with privatized CouponCare becomes law. The Congressional Budget Office says the GOP vouchers will (by definition) fail to keep pace with increases in health care costs meaning seniors will pay much more for the same benefits they receive now. In fact, according to the CBO, a typical senior will spend more than twice as much of his or her income under the GOP CouponCare plan compared to the current Medicare system.How much will this plan cost you? Here?s a wonderful interactive map, which allows seniors to see the impact of the GOP budget plan on your state. We warn you?the results are shocking:
GOP Plan is “Coupon Care” for Seniors
A Path to Prosperity-Unless you’re under 55, or poor, or widowed, or disabled, or a child who lost a parent, or middle class or have anyone in your family who is or ever will be
It?s clear GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan?s ?Path to Prosperity? budget plan is anything but for the vast majority of working Americans. The alleged core value of ?shared sacrifice? actually means sacrifice for everyone except corporations (especially insurers) and wealthy Americans. The House GOP leadership?s dream for America couldn?t be more clearly defined than in the budget plan unveiled today. More tax breaks for the wealthy and budget cuts for everyone else.
- Eliminate Medicare and replace it with a privatized system where seniors get vouchers (however, Ryan?s new poll-tested language is now ?premium assistance payments?) to pay for health care. In truth, we prefer to call them ?coupons? since they really offer about that much assistance because the whole idea is that the voucher will never actually cover the true costs of healthcare. That?s where the government saves money. Under this scheme, taxpayers will pay insurers to provide less coverage while beneficiaries pick up more of the tab. Congressional Quarterly describes it this way:
?The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reviewed an earlier version of the plan and found it probably would lead to increased costs or reduced benefits for beneficiaries. ?First, most of the savings for Medicare under the proposal stem from reducing the amounts that the federal government would pay for enrollees on a per capita basis,? according to the CBO?s Nov. 17 analysis. ?Second, future beneficiaries would probably face higher premiums in the private market for a package of benefits similar to that currently provided by Medicare.?
- Social Security reforms will be fast-tracked. While the legislative language of Ryan?s plan doesn?t propose specific cuts (allowing them to claim ?we?re not cutting Social Security? before an election year) this legislation does create a new triggering mechanism and fast-tracked process for Social Security cuts which is unprecedented in the history of Congressional budget resolutions. The trigger language in this bill is designed to circumvent the current process in order to mandate fast-tracked reforms through Congress. And since this bill?s summary also rules out revenue changes, such as the most popular option for Social Security reform, raising the payroll tax cap so that the wealthier pay their fair share, what?s left? Benefit cuts. In fact, the Ryan plan?s summary endorses cutting future Social Security benefits for everyone who is earning more than $22,000 a year right now (while they?re working) ? which is the vast majority of Americans.
- Social Security Administration cuts. This budget also assumes a continuation of GOP budget proposals which undermine Social Security by cutting its administrative budget so deep that the SSA can?t process claims in a timely way to serve the public.
- Won?t pay back the Trust Fund. Rep. Ryan?s budget summary denies the federal government?s responsibility to repay the $2.6 trillion Social Security trust fund, built up by payroll contributions from generations of working Americans. This Budget plan states: ?Any value in the balances in the Social Security trust fund is derived from dubious government accounting.?
In other words, it was real money when you paid it into the Trust Fund but now House GOP leaders have declared those dollars just ?dubious government accounting.? Speaking of dubious accounting, some are already raising the red flag on this plan?s manipulation of the numbers.Make no mistake about it, House Republican leaders intend to use the current fiscal crisis, created by decades of borrow and spend policies to justify slashing programs which touch the lives of virtually every American family.This isn?t fiscal responsibility.But it does show just how large the disconnect between House Republican leaders and working Americans truly is because the American people will not support dismantling Medicare or cuts in Social Security. These are not the priorities seniors voted for last November and now?s the time to deliver that message.Take a moment and use our Legislative Action Center to send an email to your members of Congress. It?s easy and all you need to know is your zipcode. We must let Washington know Paul Ryan?s priorities are not America?s priorities.