Here We Go Again- GOP Offers Social Security Privatization Legislation
Republican members in the House have introduced legislation which would take your Social Security contributions and give them to Wall Street. For those in Congress who routinely target safety net programs, like Social Security and Medicare, this Social Security plan is the perfect companion legislation for the GOP/Ryan Budget. Ryan?s CouponCare plan would put insurance companies in charge of seniors? healthcare while the so-called ?SAFE? act would put Wall Street in charge of your retirement savings.Do you feel safe??This Social Security proposal is political opportunism at its worst. Supporters use the current fiscal crisis–which Social Security has not contributed to in any way– as an opportunity to defund a program many of these members do not support in the first place. The privatization of Social Security does not have support among any age-group or political affiliation once you step outside the Beltway but it remains goal #1 for those who want Wall Street in charge of billions of hard-earned American tax dollars. Max Richtman, NCPSSM Executive Vice President/Acting CEOThese privatization proposals aren?t about fiscal responsibility because neither will save the federal government money. The transition costs for converting Social Security into a privatized system would cost trillions of dollars while the GOP/Ryan plan for Medicare adds $13 in waste for every dollar saved. Meanwhile, millions of Americans lose their guaranteed benefits in exchange for a ride on the Wall Street roller coaster and coupons for their healthcare. Let?s not confuse what this debate is really all about because privatization is a political goal not fiscal responsibility.For so many House Republicans who worked hard last fall (before Election Day of course) to convince American voters they haven?t and weren?t proposing Social Security privatization, this legislation certainly now destroys that claim. It?s only been six months since the GOP regained control of the House and they?ve wasted no time pushing to privatize both Medicare and Social Security, at a time when millions of Americans are still suffering in an economic crisis these programs did not create.
National Radio Medicare/Social Security Radio Ad Campaign Launched this Week
Cutting Medicare and Social Security is NOT Fiscal ResponsibilityA new round of radio ads, part of the ?Hands Off Campaign? sponsored by The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), began airing June 6th on radio stations in six Congressional districts nationwide: Florida?s 9th & 22nd, Pennsylvania?s 3rd & 11th, Wisconsin 7th and North Carolina?s 11th. This is what our Executive VP toldhad to say about the Florida ad campaign:
?Congressmen Bilirakis and West both voted in support of the GOP/Ryan Budget bill, which would destroy Medicare as we know it. That vote is out of touch with the vast majority of Americans of all ages and political persuasions who do not want to balance the budget by cutting Medicare or Social Security. This ad campaign is designed to remind these members of Congress that Americans do not support trading away Medicare?s guaranteed coverage for a privatized voucher system that would double seniors? costs in the future.?Max Richtman, Executive Vice President/Acting CEO
Along with their opposition to cutting Medicare, a recent Social Security poll of likely Florida voters showed that strong majorities declare they?ll support the candidate who argues for protecting this vital program rather than cutting it to pay down the debt.The Florida radio buy is just one part of the National Committee?s ?Hands Off Campaign?. Launched earlier this year, the campaign continues to organize and inform older Americans about the ongoing budget debate in Washington and its impact on programs touching the lives of virtually every family. Other elements of the campaign include:
- Engaging our large and growing communities on Facebook, Twitter and our Blog ?Entitled to Know? in a number of ways to keep the pressure on.
- Thousands of E-cards have been delivered to the key political players in Washington who are deciding the fates of these vital programs.
- The National Committee?s Truth Squad busts myths and provides the facts about Social Security, Medicare and our fiscal crisis.
- National Committee members and supporters have delivered more than 1 million letters and petitions to Congress urging Washington to preserve Social Security and Medicare rather than targeting these vital programs to balance the budget.
The National Committee has a successful track record in protecting the Social Security and Medicare benefits paid for by American workers and retirees including the fight to defeat President Bush?s proposals to privatize Social Security. By engaging and informing America?s seniors through similar ad campaigns, member mobilizations and grassroots efforts nationwide, our members have said, loud and clear, they?re ready to fight against those in Washington willing to trade away the nation?s most successful government programs.
Senator Corker Says Medicare and Social Security are “Generational Theft”
The new GOP Medicare Strategy these days appears to be if you don?t like the message just shoot the messenger. Yesterday?s Senate Aging Committee hearing provided one glimpse into this approach.NCPSSM Executive VP/Acting CEO and LCAO Chair, Max Richtman , testified yesterday before the Senate Select Committee on Aging about Older Americans Act programs, like home healthcare, Meals on Wheels, long term care ombudsman and many others. However, rather than talking about these vital programs, ranking GOP member Sen. Bob Corker was much more interested in attacking seniors organizations like ours for not supporting his legislation setting a Medicare Kill Switch with arbitrary spending caps, or the GOP/Ryan Budget bill which Senator Corker voted for or even means-testing the programs, turning them into welfare programs.Attacking seniors? organizations for representing their members is nothing new. Fiscal commission co-chair, Alan Simpson, has made a career of it. However, it?s clear GOP members in Washington are feeling the heat from their constituents, young and old alike, who do not support destroying Social Security or Medicare under the guise of deficit reduction.Starting with raucous town halls nationwide this spring followed by the election of a pro-Medicare Democrat in one of the reddest Congressional Districts in New York, it?s clear the American people understand the GOP/Ryan Budget plan would destroy Medicare and they don?t like it, period.That?s a message no amount of spin will fix and no amount of name-calling will change.
Senate Says NO to Ryan/GOP Plan to Destroy Medicare
?We applaud the Senate for turning back efforts to pass a budget which is more about ideological politics than sound fiscal policy. Americans of all ages understand we don?t have to destroy vital programs like Medicare and Social Security to be fiscally responsible. That message has been delivered loud and clear in town halls nationwide, in poll after poll, and again last night in New York?s Congressional race, where Medicare played a key role in that outcome. The GOP/Ryan budget would turn Medicare into a privatized voucher system meaning future beneficiaries would lose Medicare?s guaranteed benefit. This budget would have also shifted the rising costs of healthcare directly to seniors, doubling their healthcare costs without adequately addressing ways to contain those costs. The trigger mechanism included in this GOP budget would force the creation of legislated benefit cuts in Social Security, while also fast-tracking those provisions through Congress. The GOP/Ryan budget would have had devastating affects on millions of Americans still struggling in our weakened economy. Thankfully, the Senate understands this and has rejected this fiscal approach.?
More Money for Insurers, Higher Costs for Seniors in Medicare and the Government: Sound Sensible to You?
?Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other top Democrats want to put Senate Republicans on the record voting for ? or against ? the Ryan proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program for seniors. Already, a few moderate Republicans ? the latest being Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska ? have bailed on it or look ready to jump.?
Politico has a good description of the political pretzel Republicans have created for themselves by opposing efforts to reduce healthcare costs in the Affordable Care Act while at the same time supporting the destruction of Medicare as we know it as ?sensible?.
?Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he?ll vote for the Ryan budget, adding during an appearance on ?Fox News Sunday? that the Medicare voucher plan is a ?very sensible way to go to try to save Medicare.?
The Senate will vote on the Ryan/GOP Budget plan this week; however, it is clear GOP Senators are not enthused about this vote. No wonder. Americans understand that replacing a guaranteed health benefit in Medicare with the GOP/Ryan Couponcare plan is anything but ?sensible?. Turning Medicare over to private insurers who will charge more to cover less is not ?sensible?. And while putting private insurance companies in control of seniors? healthcare will certainly be good for business it?s terrifying for retirees whose costs will double. While all of this happens? the government actually pays more.The Center for Economic Policy Research reports:
?The Congressional Budget Office?s (CBO) projectionsimply that the Ryan plan would add more than $30 trillion to the cost of providing Medicare equivalent policies over the program?s 75-year planning period. This increase in costs ? from waste associated with using a less efficient health care delivery system ? has not received the attention that it deserves in the public debate The plan will lead to seven dollars of waste for every dollar saved by the government. While Ryan shifts $4.9 trillion in health care costs from the government to Medicare beneficiaries, this number is dwarfed by a $34 trillion increase in overall costs to beneficiaries that is projected based on the Congressional Budget Office?s analysis.?
Sound sensible to you?
Here We Go Again- GOP Offers Social Security Privatization Legislation
Republican members in the House have introduced legislation which would take your Social Security contributions and give them to Wall Street. For those in Congress who routinely target safety net programs, like Social Security and Medicare, this Social Security plan is the perfect companion legislation for the GOP/Ryan Budget. Ryan?s CouponCare plan would put insurance companies in charge of seniors? healthcare while the so-called ?SAFE? act would put Wall Street in charge of your retirement savings.Do you feel safe??This Social Security proposal is political opportunism at its worst. Supporters use the current fiscal crisis–which Social Security has not contributed to in any way– as an opportunity to defund a program many of these members do not support in the first place. The privatization of Social Security does not have support among any age-group or political affiliation once you step outside the Beltway but it remains goal #1 for those who want Wall Street in charge of billions of hard-earned American tax dollars. Max Richtman, NCPSSM Executive Vice President/Acting CEOThese privatization proposals aren?t about fiscal responsibility because neither will save the federal government money. The transition costs for converting Social Security into a privatized system would cost trillions of dollars while the GOP/Ryan plan for Medicare adds $13 in waste for every dollar saved. Meanwhile, millions of Americans lose their guaranteed benefits in exchange for a ride on the Wall Street roller coaster and coupons for their healthcare. Let?s not confuse what this debate is really all about because privatization is a political goal not fiscal responsibility.For so many House Republicans who worked hard last fall (before Election Day of course) to convince American voters they haven?t and weren?t proposing Social Security privatization, this legislation certainly now destroys that claim. It?s only been six months since the GOP regained control of the House and they?ve wasted no time pushing to privatize both Medicare and Social Security, at a time when millions of Americans are still suffering in an economic crisis these programs did not create.
National Radio Medicare/Social Security Radio Ad Campaign Launched this Week
Cutting Medicare and Social Security is NOT Fiscal ResponsibilityA new round of radio ads, part of the ?Hands Off Campaign? sponsored by The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), began airing June 6th on radio stations in six Congressional districts nationwide: Florida?s 9th & 22nd, Pennsylvania?s 3rd & 11th, Wisconsin 7th and North Carolina?s 11th. This is what our Executive VP toldhad to say about the Florida ad campaign:
?Congressmen Bilirakis and West both voted in support of the GOP/Ryan Budget bill, which would destroy Medicare as we know it. That vote is out of touch with the vast majority of Americans of all ages and political persuasions who do not want to balance the budget by cutting Medicare or Social Security. This ad campaign is designed to remind these members of Congress that Americans do not support trading away Medicare?s guaranteed coverage for a privatized voucher system that would double seniors? costs in the future.?Max Richtman, Executive Vice President/Acting CEO
Along with their opposition to cutting Medicare, a recent Social Security poll of likely Florida voters showed that strong majorities declare they?ll support the candidate who argues for protecting this vital program rather than cutting it to pay down the debt.The Florida radio buy is just one part of the National Committee?s ?Hands Off Campaign?. Launched earlier this year, the campaign continues to organize and inform older Americans about the ongoing budget debate in Washington and its impact on programs touching the lives of virtually every family. Other elements of the campaign include:
- Engaging our large and growing communities on Facebook, Twitter and our Blog ?Entitled to Know? in a number of ways to keep the pressure on.
- Thousands of E-cards have been delivered to the key political players in Washington who are deciding the fates of these vital programs.
- The National Committee?s Truth Squad busts myths and provides the facts about Social Security, Medicare and our fiscal crisis.
- National Committee members and supporters have delivered more than 1 million letters and petitions to Congress urging Washington to preserve Social Security and Medicare rather than targeting these vital programs to balance the budget.
The National Committee has a successful track record in protecting the Social Security and Medicare benefits paid for by American workers and retirees including the fight to defeat President Bush?s proposals to privatize Social Security. By engaging and informing America?s seniors through similar ad campaigns, member mobilizations and grassroots efforts nationwide, our members have said, loud and clear, they?re ready to fight against those in Washington willing to trade away the nation?s most successful government programs.
Senator Corker Says Medicare and Social Security are “Generational Theft”
The new GOP Medicare Strategy these days appears to be if you don?t like the message just shoot the messenger. Yesterday?s Senate Aging Committee hearing provided one glimpse into this approach.NCPSSM Executive VP/Acting CEO and LCAO Chair, Max Richtman , testified yesterday before the Senate Select Committee on Aging about Older Americans Act programs, like home healthcare, Meals on Wheels, long term care ombudsman and many others. However, rather than talking about these vital programs, ranking GOP member Sen. Bob Corker was much more interested in attacking seniors organizations like ours for not supporting his legislation setting a Medicare Kill Switch with arbitrary spending caps, or the GOP/Ryan Budget bill which Senator Corker voted for or even means-testing the programs, turning them into welfare programs.Attacking seniors? organizations for representing their members is nothing new. Fiscal commission co-chair, Alan Simpson, has made a career of it. However, it?s clear GOP members in Washington are feeling the heat from their constituents, young and old alike, who do not support destroying Social Security or Medicare under the guise of deficit reduction.Starting with raucous town halls nationwide this spring followed by the election of a pro-Medicare Democrat in one of the reddest Congressional Districts in New York, it?s clear the American people understand the GOP/Ryan Budget plan would destroy Medicare and they don?t like it, period.That?s a message no amount of spin will fix and no amount of name-calling will change.
Senate Says NO to Ryan/GOP Plan to Destroy Medicare
?We applaud the Senate for turning back efforts to pass a budget which is more about ideological politics than sound fiscal policy. Americans of all ages understand we don?t have to destroy vital programs like Medicare and Social Security to be fiscally responsible. That message has been delivered loud and clear in town halls nationwide, in poll after poll, and again last night in New York?s Congressional race, where Medicare played a key role in that outcome. The GOP/Ryan budget would turn Medicare into a privatized voucher system meaning future beneficiaries would lose Medicare?s guaranteed benefit. This budget would have also shifted the rising costs of healthcare directly to seniors, doubling their healthcare costs without adequately addressing ways to contain those costs. The trigger mechanism included in this GOP budget would force the creation of legislated benefit cuts in Social Security, while also fast-tracking those provisions through Congress. The GOP/Ryan budget would have had devastating affects on millions of Americans still struggling in our weakened economy. Thankfully, the Senate understands this and has rejected this fiscal approach.?
More Money for Insurers, Higher Costs for Seniors in Medicare and the Government: Sound Sensible to You?
?Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other top Democrats want to put Senate Republicans on the record voting for ? or against ? the Ryan proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program for seniors. Already, a few moderate Republicans ? the latest being Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska ? have bailed on it or look ready to jump.?
Politico has a good description of the political pretzel Republicans have created for themselves by opposing efforts to reduce healthcare costs in the Affordable Care Act while at the same time supporting the destruction of Medicare as we know it as ?sensible?.
?Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he?ll vote for the Ryan budget, adding during an appearance on ?Fox News Sunday? that the Medicare voucher plan is a ?very sensible way to go to try to save Medicare.?
The Senate will vote on the Ryan/GOP Budget plan this week; however, it is clear GOP Senators are not enthused about this vote. No wonder. Americans understand that replacing a guaranteed health benefit in Medicare with the GOP/Ryan Couponcare plan is anything but ?sensible?. Turning Medicare over to private insurers who will charge more to cover less is not ?sensible?. And while putting private insurance companies in control of seniors? healthcare will certainly be good for business it?s terrifying for retirees whose costs will double. While all of this happens? the government actually pays more.The Center for Economic Policy Research reports:
?The Congressional Budget Office?s (CBO) projectionsimply that the Ryan plan would add more than $30 trillion to the cost of providing Medicare equivalent policies over the program?s 75-year planning period. This increase in costs ? from waste associated with using a less efficient health care delivery system ? has not received the attention that it deserves in the public debate The plan will lead to seven dollars of waste for every dollar saved by the government. While Ryan shifts $4.9 trillion in health care costs from the government to Medicare beneficiaries, this number is dwarfed by a $34 trillion increase in overall costs to beneficiaries that is projected based on the Congressional Budget Office?s analysis.?
Sound sensible to you?