Demand That the Fiscal Commission Keep Social Security and Medicare Intact

[eridani]

Public Meeting & Public Feedback
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov /

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform will hold a public hearing in the afternoon on June 30th in Washington, D.C., wherein the chairmen and commissioners will hear ideas from members of the public. If you or your organization would like an opportunity to be a part of this public forum, please send an email to [e-mail] with the information below, and we will contact you as the date approaches.
1) Name
2) Will you be representing an organization?
3) If so, what organization will you be representing?
4) Email Address
5) Phone Number
6) Zip Code
7) Any additional information

Unfortunately, due to time and space constraints, we are not able to accommodate everyone. However, anyone can submit comments, ideas, and suggestions at anytime via email by contacting [e-mail] . All comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record.
Email comments to [e-mail]
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/

References
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/zombies-have-already-killed-the-deficit-commission/
http://www.correntewire.com/right_message
http://www.cepr.net/ssrr/2005_01_18.htm
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1381
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/entitlement-reform-real-language-hatred

My email--

I'm seriously disgusted with the Deficit Commission's use of the term "entitlement" to imply that Social Security and Medicare are welfare programs for people who don't work. "Entitlement" in reality means that since average Americans work and pay into these funds for most of their adult lives, we are jolly well ENTITLED to the benefits we have paid for, capeesh?

Social Security is a government program funded by a dedicated tax. There are two ways to look at this. First, you can simply view the program as part of the general federal budget, with the dedicated tax bit just a formality. Alternatively, you can look at Social Security on its own, in which case as long as it still has funds in its trust fund, it doesn’t need new legislation to keep paying promised benefits.

But you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say that for the last 25 years, when Social Security ran surpluses, well, that didn’t mean anything, because it’s just part of the federal government; but when payroll taxes fall short of benefits, even though there’s lots of money in the trust fund, Social Security is broke. If you are truly worried about that, just raise the earnings cap.

If you are worried about the deficit in general, then tax those parasitic derivatives peddlers you are pimping for, reinstate Reagan era (or even Eisenhower era) marginal tax rates and tax investment income at the same level as earned income. And consider the increasingly obvious fact that the US can no longer afford to be an empire with 800+ military bases around the world. If Britain and the Soviet Union could give up being empires in the last century, then we can do it in this century.

[stray cat]

1. Meaning no raising the cap for paying into SS!

and no means testing - I want to continue helping pay for retired Wall Street Executives!

[eridani]

2. Meaning hell yes raise the cap!

If you pay in, you get it back out, no matter who you are. And if other retirement income sources are high enough, you pay taxes on Social Security.

[Hannah Bell]

5. social security is already means-tested. it's taxed as income.

the cap is raised nearly every year.

wall street executives make most of their money as capital income, not wage income.

[Hannah Bell]

6. kr, thanks.

[eridani]

3. Kick for another day. Just a couple of days left to get your comments in n/t

[Swamp Rat]

4. k&r

[eridani]

7. Statement from Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans

Name: Robby Stern, President
Organization: Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans
Email Address: President {at} psara.org
Phone Number:[phone]
Zip Code: 98121


On behalf of the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, an organization of approximately one thousand individual and organizational members, I am making the following comments:

The Commission should find solutions to the fiscal deficit by honestly looking at the real causes of the present deficit. These causes include: the costs of two wars; the tax breaks that have been provided to the wealthy people in our country; the huge dollars that were provided to the banks and investment houses of our country from the tax revenue generated primarily by the working people of our country; and the costs of a broken health care system that costs too much and delivers too little to the people of our country.

The problem is not Social Security. As you know, Social Security has a dedicated source of revenue and the Social Security Trust Fund has a very significant surplus from which the Congress has borrowed to fund the wars, the tax breaks, and the bail outs. These dollars were paid by working people to assure that they would have a reliable and sufficient source of income when they retire or when it is needed for survivor children or disability. It is immoral to look to cuts in Social Security as a way to pay down the deficit. To be clear, raising the retirement age is a cut and failing to pay cost of living increases is also a cut. The people on this Commission know that a simple way to assure payment, at the present level, of benefits from the Social Security Trust Fund beyond 2037 is to eliminate the $106,800 cap and require that all income earners pay the Social Security tax on the entirety of their income rather than giving a tax break to high income earners. The Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans believes that cuts in Social Security to reduce the deficit is tantamount to stealing from the American people in order to support the wealthy and corporate interests in our country and we will do everything we can to stop this theft.

With regard to Medicare and Medicaid, the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans would have preferred a Single Payer solution to our health care crisis, in other words Medicare for all. However, we supported the reforms that were passed related to Medicare and Medicaid. We believe that the new health care reform law, and particularly the Medicare and Medicaid provisions should be given the opportunity to work. Any deficit reduction proposal from the Commission should not in any way propose cutting either of these programs.

We would urge the Commission to engage in a transparent process and hold hearing around the country so that you can hear what people are thinking. You should not allow yourselves to be captured in the "beltway mentality". You have an ethical and moral obligation to hold accountable those who are responsible for the present economic recession/depression. You have an obligation not to increase the terrible disparity between the wealthy in this country and the rest of the population.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. ...

:kick:

[eridani]

9. Just one more day to get your comments in!

Please circulate to your regular contacts also.

[amborin]

10. K&R whoops, too late to rec; wish i'd seen this sooner...thanks for posting

[amborin]

11. darn, the deadline was June 25

[eridani]

12. The actual hearing is for the 30th

I sent an email on the 28th which didn't bounce.