Obama Claims GOP Trying to Destroy Social Security

[Elmore Furth]

Source: Associated Press

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 14, 2010
Filed at 6:00 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is using the anniversary of Social Security to trumpet Democrats' support for the popular program and accuse Republicans of trying to destroy it.

Seventy-five years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday: ''We have an obligation to keep that promise, to safeguard Social Security for our seniors, people with disabilities and all Americans -- today, tomorrow and forever.''

Some Republican leaders in Congress are ''pushing to make privatizing Social Security a key part of their legislative agenda if they win a majority in Congress this fall,'' Obama said.

He contended that such privatization was ''an ill-conceived idea that would add trillions of dollars to our budget deficit while tying your benefits to the whims of Wall Street traders and the ups and downs of the stock market.''



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/14/us/politics/AP-US-Obama-Social-Security.html?ref=news

---

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, has resurrected Bush's proposal that would allow younger people to put Social Security money into personal accounts.

Does anyone seriously believe there would not be a bail-out of some sort for retirees if the markets collapsed?

[nightrain]

1. here we go... first on health care, then other issues, now SS and Medicare...

Sounds to me as if Obama is setting himself up as the savior of SS and Medicare with his catfood commission. (like he did with health "care"???..)

If Republicans are the problem Obama, then why did you pack the catfood commission with some of the most vociferous Republican destroyers of SS and Medicare?

[xchrom]

5. +1

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Chef Eric]

15. Obama's Commission on "Fiscal Responsibility"

From http://uspoverty.change.org/petitions/view/tell_congress_stop_the_catfood_commission:

The commission has been dubbed by progressives the "Catfood Commission" because its goal appears to be cutting benefits so drastically that retirees will only be able to afford to eat pet food. It's hard to tell exactly what the commission is planning because its meetings are closed to the public and the press. Based on past statements and the background of its members the proposals are likely to include raising the retirement age to 70, turning large portions of Social Security over to Wall Street, and cutting Medicare benefits.

The commission's co-chairman Alan Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming, has stated he believes the founders of the Social Security program never expected anyone to actually live to 65 and collect. "People just died," he has said. "Social Security was never retirement." Erskine Bowles, the other co-chairman, negotiated a secret but ultimately unsuccessful deal between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich to cut Social Security benefits. Any chances that the commission would make cuts to the US defense budget in its pursuit of fiscal responsibility seem slim owing to the fact that the CEO of Honeywell, a major defense contractor, is a member of the panel.

[AlbertCat]

166. the Social Security program never expected anyone to actually live to 65 and collect.

This is of course baloney.

It is true that the average life expectancy in the USA in the 1930's (according to Ancestry.com) was 59.7.... 60. But that is an AVERAGE meaning about half (mostly women) live longer and the dead half includes the much higher infant death... not a SS concern. The idea that most 60 year olds died in the 1930's is absurd.

Besides, what does that matter now? It ain't even the 20th century any more. With more teenagers and women paying into the system these days, and the decline of the Baby Boomers already happening, it should be fine with some SMALL tweaks. The very fact people live longer.... longer than they are able to work, also just means we need SS even more!

[mikehiggins]

20. if you are old enough to remember the "good old days"

there were times when the old/poor were reduced to eating pet food to survive, assuming they had that much money available, and were purely out in the cold if they became ill. Medicare and food stamps, etc., made those days seem surreal and far distant from out present experience. Obama's appointees to the "cat food commission" include some of the most virulent voices supporting the destruction of these programs--and Social Security--which is why it is viewed with fear and loathing by people who know/remember/understand what is at stake.

This is not a "don't let the perfect drive out the good" scenario. There is no way in which screwing with SocSec can be anything but bad, bad, bad, and worse. The man who allow anything like that will go down in history as the greatest betrayer of the people of this nation in history.

To go back to Aesop, the enemies of social security resemble dogs in the manger...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

12. so you support privatizing Social Security?

[glitch]

36. How about instead of privatizing it, and cutting it, we just save it as is.

And pay back what has been "borrowed" from it. It'll be solvent for about 30 more years, there is only one reason to make it a BFD right now.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

37. It would be useful to pay back what is owed to it

[Yupster]

88. Yeah - the federal budget's got plenty of leftover

cash right now to pay back a hundred billion a year or so for the next 30 years.

That's a nice easy solution.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

107. it was wasted on war and tax cuts for the wealthy etc

[Andy823]

132. Yep

And if republicans get back in charge things will get even worse! They want to privatize everything, then when the bottom falls out because we get into another mess like Bush left us, they hope a democrat will be in office and they can blame it "ALL" on them, just like they are trying to do now, and just like now they would vote against any kind of help simply for political reasons so they could get back in charge! It seems to happen a lot, republicans destroying the country and then a democrat has to come in and clean up the mess! Sadly once the mess is cleaned up, the republicans seem to get back in charge, and the whole process starts all over again! It's simply insane!

[Vincardog]

120. too bad Social Security has NO NEGATIVE IMPACT on the budget BY LAW, Nice straw man tho

[Yupster]

159. Except that the budget owes the social security fund

about I don't know a trillion dollars?

And people say the social security fund is fine because it has a trillion in government IOU's.

Well if the government can't pay it, you ain't getting it.

Just to give an example...

You have $ 400,000 in a fund that you have set aside calling it your retirement fund.

Now your useless brother in law borrows the $ 400,000 and gives you IOU's which you put in a lockbox.

Next your bropher in law goes to Vegas and bets the $ 400,000 on black.

Too bad.

Now someone asks you how your retirement looks and you say you're fine because you have these $ 400,000, now $ 475,000 because of interest worth of IOU's from your brother in law.

Meanwhile how's your brother in law doing?

He doesn't have a dime. He's hopelessly in debt and borrowing more money every month to pay his bills.

So do you have $ 475,000 in your retirement fund?

I'd say no, but if you want to go to your safe and show me the IOU's I guess you'd say yes, you're fine.

[CTuttle]

161. That would be why the PTB's want to trim it...

Basically, it shouldn't be called the 'catfood commission', but, rather the 'Sovereign Default Commission'... All those fat cat's that looted the 'lockbox' don't want to pay back...!

:grr:

[Vincardog]

169. Unless your BIL is Uncle Sam this is another straw man/ don't trust your T bills, Send them to ME.

[creeksneakers2]

178. Uncle Sam isn't broke and won't ever be broke

There are 10s of trillions of dollars in assets and future earnings out there. The money can be paid back. It won't be if people accept the lie that its all been stolen or lost.

[Yupster]

190. So there's no limit on how much we should owe?

We take in about $ 2 trillion a year in tax revenues.

So if we owe $ 100 trillion and pay $ 2 trillion a year in interest payments that would be okay?

My solution to social security is two parts.

1. Lift the cap so you pay FICA on all earned income.

2. Make the universal program universal by folding the teacher retirement systems and other state systems of workers not in social security into social security so we're all in the same boat together.

[mbperrin]

129. Money is borrowed every Monday by the Treasury Department, because

T-bills and other notes mature, and new lenders must be found, nothing unusual at all.

So an orderly maturation of the SS notes is not a problem at all.

Some recent results:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/RI/OFNtebnd

[ProudDad]

201. Usury for the banksters... (n/t)

[dflprincess]

171. Use the money we're wasting to continue the endless war policy

and a pretty good dent could be made in the money owed the SS trust fund.

[laylah]

164. Tell that to the Repubs (and some Dems...sadly) who have raped,

pillaged, and burned the system. Why should THEY care...they are taken care of for life. At least until WE, the People, say otherwise. I have my doubts.

Jenn

[bjobotts]

182. What is owed to it is in gov. bonds.now so has not really gone anywhere.

[bjobotts]

184. Removing the cap so people making over $1k/yr pay into it like the rest of us makes it solvent forev

It would even be able to increase the benefit amount paid out. Another example where the very wealthy get out of paying like the rest of us, making it nearly insolvent in times to come while they figure new ways to steal i from us...all those trillions waiting to be moved to the Cayman Islands by Wall street bankers. 401ks and real estate investment derivatives bundling and betting putting retirement money up for the taking. Yeah...you betcha.

[boppers]

187. $1k/yr?

Er, typo?

[daleanime]

51. How about.....

we lower the age limit?:bounce:

[glitch]

66. Lowering the age limit (and providing single payer) would have done a lot to boost our economy

and lower unemployment, much more so than massive bank bailouts. Talk about opportunity costs!

[daleanime]

70. Right! It just makes sense...

lift the pay cap limit to help with the cost, you don't have to find a way to cover the expense of single payer-it saves us money as is! Now cut Defense spending(end those damn wars!), lower our prison population(why are we leading the world in prisoners?) and budget problems/unemployment go away!

[glitch]

75. IOW reverse the Reaganomic transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthiest.

But that won't get you golf dates! ;)

[daleanime]

83. Why would I want a 'golf date'?

Take the lady to local high school game-you find out more about who she is when she has to deal with kids and strangers, not 'just' you!:blush: :rofl:





And YES! We need to start recreating our 'middle' class once again! It's been stepped on far too often over the last 30+ years.

[bjobotts]

185. Oh if only Medicare covered everyone, better care, lower costs and decreased deficits

[bjobotts]

186. No wonder every republican opposes it, Would've made the dems too popular.

[nightrain]

91. of course not.

[olegramps]

13. I believe that he is starting to get the message.

The Republicans wanted health care reform to be his Waterloo and indeed he cooperated with them by throwing out the most important aspect of needed reform but further enabling the Insurance rip-offs to bilk the working class. Perhaps he starting to wake-up to the fact that Republicans are his enemy and he is losing ground with those that put him in office. His dumb ass attempts to be bipartisan are ridiculous. This is especially true of the Cat Food Commission.

[northernlights]

31. or it's another head fake aimed at his base...

>I remember when Michelle "broke ground" on her organic garden, complete with photo op and press fanfare. Same day that Obama put Monsanto in charge of agriculture behind the scenes.

>I remember when Obama made a big, big deal about how they preferred adopting "mutt like me" from a shelter. As far as I can determine they never made even the slightest attempt to get a shelter puppy -- despite the *fact* that there were dozens of "hypoallergenic" puppies (including an entire litter of the golden-doodle cross that Malia wanted) available from shelters within a couple hundred miles of me, never mind across the country. But not once did I read from a shelter manager or rescuer that they'd been contacted or had attempts to place appropriate pups responded to. And what shelter "rescue" mutt did they end up with? An elite breed, one which your average Jane would not be *allowed* or *good enough* to purchase, direct from the breeder.

>I could go on, but I'd rather not. x(

[russspeakeasy]

50. thanks northernlights I thought I was hallucinating or just

being paranoid...glad you noticed it too.

[Alameda]

175. I noticed it too...

[Igel]

74. Probably not.

Probably it does two things.

It restricts what the 'independent' commission knows it can come up with. After all, Obama has now prejudged the issue, to some extent, so some recommendations cannot be adopted without changing his (D) into an (R).

Mostly, though, it's a salvo fired over the bow of elderly independents that might be veering to starboard (as opposed to port, if only tawny port).

[nightrain]

92. yeah, sadly... I hate these potential head fakes, so destructive for regular people

[readmoreoften]

98. He's good at "action" that only requires "talk".

(Well, when it comes to LGBT issues....)

And it's not like he's going to lose to a Republican in NYC.

[defendandprotect]

41. Wow . . . naive ... Obama is fully awake and not being tricked by GOP ... if any of what

you are saying was true we would certainly need a new presidential candidate

in 2012 --

[bbgrunt]

113. admin wake up? no, it is us who better wake up!

[burnsei sensei]

27. +1

nt

[fascisthunter]

55. yeee-up.... it does look like a set up

[bluethruandthru]

58. [phone] n/t

[Historic NY]

76. Strategy make them wiggle & come up with a solution.......then do the opposite.

We all know * & the Repukes want it in private hands. We must continue to stree its our money not the governments. SS is collected from payroll taxes ie our pockets.

[emilyg]

99. +2

[peace frog]

102. [phone]

Why, indeed.

[bbgrunt]

108. +2

[Vincardog]

119. the savior of SS and Medicare with his catfood commission. FUCK that and fuck the DLC Corporate new

democrats

[Demeter]

121. Who Appointed the Catfood Commission, Mr. President?

Take a look in the magic mirror....

[butterfly77]

128. Because no matter...

what the Presidemt says you are going to have a problem with it,RIGHT..

[Name removed]

130. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[laughingliberal]

150. I heard him speak at an event a while back where he said fixing SS was simple-raise the cap.

I was very happy to hear him say that. I am disturbed that he did not outline any of his suggestions for 'strengthening' SS today. I'm glad he's standing against privatization but worry he will endorse raising the retirement age or cutting benefits. I was not pleased that, after the Senate defeated the bill to create the deficit reduction commission, President Obama created it by executive order at the behest of a couple of SS hating deficit hawks-Conrad and Gregg. I was appalled to see him appoint Alan Simpson who is a well known hater of all thing New Deal and has one of the most insulting attitudes towards those less well off in our society of any lawmaker we've ever had as the Republican co-chair. I was not very happy with his appointment of Erskine Bowles, who has been a proponent of partial privatization, as the Democratic chair.

So, I've heard some things from him I am happy about (opposing privatization)-I support him in opposing that...and (if he still stands by it) raising the cap-I support him in that. If he endorses cuts (including raising the retirement age) I will not support him in that.

My support or lack of support has nothing to do with who he is or how much I like him. It is entirely dependent on what he does. And that remains to be seen.

[liberal N proud]

153. The second post on this thread already has him giving SS away

Not even waiting to see what he has planned. Already condemning the comments as an attack on Social Security.

There is a fairly large contingent on this board who are attacking no matter what. Those are the ones that I am asking what would it take.

[laughingliberal]

157. I understand your point...

I do need to say, though, I am pretty unhappy with him for creating this commission in the first place. That, and his appointments of Simpson and Bowles are cause for concern to me. That said, I'm hoping he will fight against the types of suggestions I hear leaking out of the commission and will, personally, lead the pep rally for him if he does.

I think a lot of the negativity we see about this is due to the fact that this commission has many of us who are in our 50's and have lost everything in this recession terrified as SS is our last hope for avoiding homelessness and hunger when we can no longer work. The President created the commission at the behest of 2 Senators who have no interest in helping us. This is not another case where bad results can be put off on a recalcitrant legislature. In creating the commission by executive order, he made himself ultimately responsible for their actions as they would not exist without him.

I am glad he is standing against privatization and I am glad I heard him, that one time, say raising the cap would be the simplest way to fix SS and I hope that is still his position.

[nightrain]

195. It's not "attacking no matter what". The composition of the catfood commission

and the previous remarks/attitudes/intentions of some of the primary members of the commission are highly suspect. Obama's bending over backward to appease Republicans has just got to stop, or all the gains progresives have made to create and sustain safety nets will disappear. That seems to be the goal--starting with Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II.

[awoke_in_2003]

174. and he once said...

that Hillary's health care mandate was wrong.

[Kokonoe]

147. +2

Hes setting up the pieces. Republicans must explain why nobody needs income after 62.

A lot of showmanship for me though.

[Lorien]

160. As many have said here; watch the actions, not the words

The words alone certainly pacify one demographic here; the ones who fight against any true "change" under the banner of "winning is more important." Just what do they think we've been "winning" other than elections?

[earth mom]

162. Yep-everyone should question WHY Obama has rethugs in charge of the catfood commission

this sounds like more doublespeak to me. UGH. :puke:

[KoKo]

163. We MUST LEARN TO COMPROMISE..Obama is Laying this Out for Us...We Must Comply...

The Future of America is at Stake, here. WE MUST "ALL" COMPROMISE TO SAVE AMERICA...

Who Could Have Known we would ALL be UP AGAINST WHAT IS THE WORST ECONOMY IN AMERICA's HISTORY. Yes, Part of the blame belongs to Bush...but the REST BELONGS TO AMERICANS...WHO ASKED TOO MUCH FROM THEIR GOVERNMENT!

Let's all lie down now...not get in a frothing frenzy...and DO WHAT IS BEST for our COUNTRY.

SACRIFICE....It's WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO KEEP AMERICA SAFE from FOREIGN INVADERS and from the "Mis-Management" of the Past. BUT...WE MUST MOVE ON FROM THE PAST. WHAT'S BEEN DONE IS DONE...WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD IN AMERICA!

WE ALL NEED TO SACRIFICE!

[Bluesbreaker]

177. Remember the public option?

I do. I remember Obama campaigned on it. Oops, what happened? Ditto for closing Gitmo, criticism of the GOP on the Patriot Act, Climate Change, NCLB, etc. When Obama starts criticizing the Republicans, you can be sure that he's coming to the rescue with something that smells a lot like the thing he's criticizing.

[MsPithy]

180. Has anyone seen Obama promise to not cut benefits?

Privatization is out, that's great, but, I'm still afraid the cat food commission will raise the age to 70, cutting benefits! At this point, I think it is just like Obama to make a big deal out of protecting Social Security from privatization in one speech and then turn around and cut the benefits in the next! Why are all those RICH SOCIAL SECURITY HATERS on the cat food commission, anyway?

[Skittles]

189. YUP

same playbook, different issue

[superconnected]

202. +1

[lillypaddle]

2. K&R nt.

[Eric Galaxy]

3. Where can people view the various SS proposals...

and who supports them?

[Chef Eric]

16. They can't.

According to http://uspoverty.change.org/petitions/view/tell_congress_stop_the_catfood_commission :

The commission's meetings are closed to the public and the press.

[northernlights]

26. just more transparency...

"It's hard to tell exactly what the commission is planning because its meetings are closed to the public and the press."

x(

[dflprincess]

173. And the Catfood Commission's recommendations aren't due until December

(just a coincidence that the deadline is after the election, I'm sure) and Pelosi has promised an up or down vote in the House during the lame duck session. No debate allowed, lest the serfs find out what's going on.

[Frisbee]

28. Ahh yes, there's more of that "transparency"...

we were promised.

[Turbineguy]

4. They are not trying to destroy it

they are trying to give it to Wall Street Banksters who will destroy it.

[fogonthelake]

8. The end result is the same. And the Cat Commission needs

to hear what Obama says now also.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

14. Republicans have said that they wish to destroy it

it is on record.

[Turbineguy]

48. Forgot

to add this::sarcasm:

[HillbillyBob]

87. Seems like they want to destroy

Country, freedoms, the middle class and spread misery where ever they go.
Its time to turn the tables on them. Lets start by drowning Grover N in the nearest birdbath.

[McCamy Taylor]

6. If Dems want to get 60 seats in the Senate, we need more of this.

The Tea Baggers are not going to stop their racial fearmongering (Obama in white face) so the Dems need to point out that the GOP is much more scary.

[Overseas]

29. I agree. //nt

[glitch]

30. Yep. And if we want to keep Social Security from being CUT, we must fight for a progressive Congress

Right it now it's being framed as a fight between DLC "reform" and GOP "privatization".

What we need is rightious Henry Wallace style Liberal FIGHT.

[NYMdaveNYI]

47. if only FDR was still here. |nt|

[SteveM]

138. Hell, I'll take LBJ! nt

[NYMdaveNYI]

140. fuck it, i’ll take William Howard Taft!

[Art_from_Ark]

203. William Howard Taft?

You mean the man who has the dubious distinction of being the only incumbent President ever to get fewer votes than a 3rd party candidate?

[HillbillyBob]

86. I would run for office if I could.

Im not in good enough health to survive the crap that would surely be made up about me. I have a checkered past, nothing really unlawful(had a couple duis when I was in early 20s). Being gay im sure they would play up that to no f in end.

How bout we try to field some candidates from here?

[glitch]

168. I already asked Landshark to run :) nt

[defendandprotect]

42. At this point, Obama is in control of the "Cat Food" activity ... not GOP ...

so it's difficult to say that Obama is less dangerous than the GOP right now!!

Except he's also overloaded the CFC with Repugs -- vicious Repugs ...

Maybe that's what you meant?

[wordpix]

111. yes we do ---we need more FIGHT from this admin. Way to gO!

:applaud:

[Roci]

7. I never "Liked Ike" or "Leave it to Beaver"

But Eisenhower put it best in a letter to his brother, Milton.

"Those who look to get rid of Social Security are few, and they are stupid. Any party that tries it will not be on the political landscape for very long."

Ike did have his moments. His farewell speech is among the better of them. In it, he warned of "the military-industrial complex." The irony of all this is that today, Ike could not stay in the Party of NO anymore than Goldwater could.

What we have today running the party of NO,is what I have called "Leave it to Beaver" Republicans. This is because their one and only aim is to destroy, dismantle and disassociate every social program of the New Deal, (FDR) and the Great Society (LBJ) (and yes, that includes the Civil Rights Act) that make up the social safety net and the basic equalities won by all minorities since the Great Depression. These troglodytes have a fairy tale "vision" of America, almost like it could be produced on a back lot at a studio and "rolled out" to replace what fair minded and compassionate people have fought, bled, and yes, died for ever since the later half of the last century.
Life (if you can call it that) for these backward, greedy, racists would have the American Family looking and sounding like an episode of the old TV show "Leave it to Beaver." It is their stock and trades to pre-package "set piece" "pat" answers to the most complex problems we face. From Immigration, where their "solution is mass arrest and deportation without due process for ten to twelve million people who are at a disadvantage, to those who live (if you can call it that) on Social Security, and are suddenly being made to bear a disproportionate share of the results of eight years of government by and for corporate and fiscal brigands who looted the economy and then got handed a "get out of jail free" card by the man who was supposed to clean up a Republican mess, the party of NO specializes in this "pure snow" vision of their America while the poor and voiceless at the bottom pay for it.

The reason I say this is because this is what the basis for the Democratic campaign strategy (Is there one at all yet??) ought to be for the fall elections. Chain the Party of NO to their "embrace" of corporate brigands like BP, and tell the voters Truman style in vivid detail and at volume if need be (so we can and will be heard) about who has been, and will be "stuck with the check" while the Party of NO re-casts a twenty-first century version of "Leave it to Beaver" for everyone to watch, so no one will notice that these misguided miscreants are robbing the neighbor's house, and will get around to yours as soon as they think they can.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. when the Republicans say they will rebuild it they mean that they will destroy it

[No Elephants]

57. the nostalgia for racist Ike is misplaced.

Ike appointed Earl Warren, who had made his bones interning Japanese in California, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, then chided him, in very racist terms. for deciding Brown v. Board of Ed. in favor of integration. Warren became a judicial enforcer of civil rights of all kinds. Eisenwhower called his appointment of Warren--wait for it--the biggest mistake of his 8 years as President.

He dragged his feet as long as he could before attempting to enforce it, even as Eleanor Roosevelt and many others begged for enforcement. And the civil rights efforts he did make were part of his cold war efforts, not part of his humanitarism. (He felt Communists were using racism against America.)

Ike's stuck America with a huge expansion of Executive Privilege, to protect his administration from Joe McCarthy's witch hunts, while allowing others to twist in the wind. He expanded our role in Vietnam from economic aid (begun under Truman) to military aid. We are still suffering the bitter fruits of the Eisenhower Doctrine. Not to mention that he picked Tricky Dick as his V.P. and campaigned for Barry Goldwater (another object of too much nostalgia from Democrats, IMO.)

Sure, he "warned against" the military industrial complex in his farewell speech.. That warning,
while accurate, nonetheless rings pretty hollow coming from him, especially since he gave citizens the burden of curbing said military industrial complex on the citizenry.

By the time of his warning about the military industrial comples, he he had been part of that military industrial complex for all of his adult life, without doing anything but help expand it. He was a general; he ran on, in essence, the Cold War, and he was President for 8 years (and resumed his military commission as soon as he left office). So, who was he expecting to stand up to the military industrial complex, America's burger flippers?

Ike may have been a military hero in WWII, although D-Day was certainly a blood bath and his treatment of prisoners was reportedly cruel. As a politician, however, he was no prince who had only a few "moments." Rather, he was a President whose farewell speech was one of his good moments, as was his support for social security.

Was he as bad as Dummya? No, but few were then.

[jaysunb]

143. +1 n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

204. Ike wasn't the only one who felt that

"Communists were using racism against America." In 1951, while Truman was still President, the United States issued this commemorative coin.



The original design called for the phrase "United Against the Spread of Communism" to be inscribed on the reverse (tails side), but the State Department intervened to get it rejected.

Although the allotted number of coins was not sold by the original deadline, Congress passed an extending act in September 1951 that contained a clause specifying that the profits of the Washington-Carver half dollar were to be used "to oppose the spread of Communism among Negroes in the interest of the National defense."

http://www.usrarecoininvestments.com/collecting/was-car-halfdollar.htm

[eridani]

151. Welcome to DU

Nice thoughtful post.

[rasputin1952]

9. If there is a little cash left over after the bills are paid...

what stops a person from saving that until they can invest a little later?

That way, SS/Medicare is still there for them, and if they invested wisely, they will be just that more ahead. Saving for the future is not a "single step process" as the GOP would have people believe, it is a multifaceted approach that can bring the most gain from investments, savings and SS/Medicare.

One program that haves kept millions of retirees afloat and relatively healthy is SS/Medicare; why the GOP is so against this is beyond me...especially since they have spent whatever "surplus" funds SS had accrued while often using this money to pay for systematic tax cuts.

I wonder if Reagan, Bush Sr or any of the R's who complain about this, but are receiving benefits send back money that was beyond their actual contributions? that 6.5% pays quite handsomely if you receive a check from SS. In fact, most people after 18 months receiving SS have already received back the money they put into the system, everything from there on is simply "gravy".

The one thing that should happen, is that Congress should not be allowed to use the funds for anything other than what it was intended for. No more stealing from the fund, it would be solvent for 150 years if they kept there paws off of it.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

24. That's true, Congress should never steal from SS

[Yupster]

89. You're standing in front of a barn door

ad there aren't any cows in the barn anymore.

[HillbillyBob]

49. I agree with most of your post

Though on this point you likely have not given much thought to 'savings'.
Not criticising just trying to point up the struggle that many Americans have been having since raygun..now its finally really affecting a majority of the citizens.
At this point Wall Street can fall in to the ocean I would not trust them with used bubble gum let alone life savings if I had any left.

When you are pay check to pay check that does not really cover all of your bills, I mean necessary bills, like rent.
Since most of us earning minimum or even 10$/hr is not much of a wage, I was a skilled electrician very skilled did a good job, but pay in non union states is so low there is nothing left to save.

You have to eat, you have to have a roof over your head, The kids have to have shoes, the car if you have one has to be maintained, that's hard on low wages, but you almost have to have a car to get to work because the buses don't go there and there are not trains or street-cars anymore.

I have been homeless 3x due to illness, injury and job loss thanks to phobes I was fired on suspicion of being a fag usually because I did not yell nasties at women walking by the job sites, I did not have a wife or girlfriend. The first round of hospital bills wiped me out when BCBS denied payment after saying they would pay.

I worked 2 and 3 jobs, plus dumpster diving and yard sales for clothes, or items I could fix up and resell. I was never extravagant, could not afford to be. Only buying new clothes so rarely that my old ones were rags.
I'm not talking about having cable or even a tv, I did not have a tv for years, or dinners out other than a slide through McDs.

I can't say how many times that rice and beans were it, some times even nothing.
Now we have a garden, it is struggling, but we will get at least part of our food from our own yard.
It is hard to keep up a garden when you are sick and my partner works his ass off to keep us afloat, he is a wedding officiant on the side, but not many weddings because of the economy.

Now I am on SSD due to those illness and ojt injuries. Even out here in Rural NC 800 a month does not go far, and my partners job doesn't give raises and he is making only 46% of what he was making in 2000 and 75% less than in 98.
Doing the same work as an IT pro except most of his jobs went to India.
I had to lose everything and be on the streets for almost 2 yrs before i got sick enough to be eligible for help.

Savings just are not there.
We are paycheck to paycheck.
We know we are doing better than a lot of folk, but that is because we have already been where those 99ers are now, several times. We have a lifetime of coping. Sometimes it would be nice to be able to go buy a new wardrobe or even just a new pair of shoes, before you Have to have new shoes.

We still try to save, even if its 10$, but there is always something that is needed that becomes an emergency..like when the clothes washer died.
Taking to the laundry added up quickly and the cost of the front loader paid for itself in 2.5 yrs(then there's that me being sick and we live 10 miles from the nearest town and the motor in my truck is blown bc the oil pump quit)

We do have a largish house..it was abandoned when we bought it and moved in.
Our in-town rent was hard to keep up with, and then the house sold to a guy who raised the rent 400$ from the 950 it was. We looked at cheaper rents in-town "because we fixed it up so nice, and he said he was going to take the things I put in, like the woodstove, solar attic fan and styro panel insulation in the basement walls and put in hs house while he raise the rent from 950 to 1275.
We could not get the wood-stove out, but got the attic fan and some of the insulation that i had put in..it was not fastened down just leaned against the basement walls to keep in some of the heat from the furnace down there. The wood stove was a 150$ one and a nearby hardwood floor maker is where I got fire wood for free some times 10$ for a pick up load. We have a decorative fireplace that came with the house that we need to replace with a wood stove. We have 7 acres of woods and plan to clean up and replant where some of the thickets are to hybrid poplar for steady firewood and to install solar water heater(have the unit) but need a new roof first. That heats enough water to use it for in floor radiant heat..still its the budget to buy the remaining materials.

If the houses I looked at were affordable they were mouldy(ER trip allergic), had scary neighbors( I mean 'the hills have eyes, scary and very unfriendly seeming), leaky roof, no heat, no bathroom or something else unacceptable.
I nearly died (5trips to the emergency room with mould allergies) from living in a rental with bad mould, fleas, ticks, broken windows and no heat.

This place needs a bunch of work and a good deal of $ to bring it back up. It is a bit larger than 2 people need, but with me sick all the time we had to have a place with more than one bathroom and we saw the crash coming and moved when we could and there were only so many places we could find for 65-75$ range and it qualified for my partner to use his VA benefit,I lost my mine when I got outed in the Navy.
This house was trashed we got it cheap.
It had been an MJ grow house. mould, mice, etc..we could not afford 'nicer' we could not afford rent anymore in town so we are country mice now.
It suits but it sure as hell would be nice to be able to afford to get the furnace fixed and the roof replaced or any of about 30 projects that need to be done like yesterday. I have been slowly creating savings by sealing, insulation and spending 50 or 100 every month to buy supplies or an led light.
We have knocked the power bill down from 450$ a month to 150(avg), and not sitting in the dark heat or cold or from 3300-4000 kwhrs to 1200kwhrs. That means a 2500 in savings on the power and fuel bills every year and we have 'invested' 3500 over the last few years all told. Mostly little things add up. but it still does not put any thing back in savings because it is taking all we can do to keep up.

I know its a bit long. I have included stuff not neccesarily refering to savings, but to show that we have been resourceful and used what we could get our hands on to make do..and it gets old when you have been making do for the last 30 plus years. I will be 48 next month.
Im not playing for sympathy, what I want is to make others stop and think about how easily you can end up on the street. If this is the greatest country and so rich why is it so hard to make a life when you work your ass off?

[Lifelong Protester]

81. HillBillybob, I admire your tenacity.

I am hoping some positive winds blow your way, or the deity sends you some love. I will send some good vibes your way.

I think your story is much more common than we think, and it I agree, on limited income the idea of 'saving for the future' seems irrelevant. YOur resourcefulness is amazing, and still you keep on going! You are a dynamo, my friend, to live with all of the stuff you have had happen to you.

Good luck, and if you don't mind, God Bless you!

[rasputin1952]

118. I sat here reading your story, and I can say, in some instances...

I am right there w/you. I had to go back to school to make sure I didn't go "idle" during this recession, and the little I have left over from grants, supplements what my son is making. We live pretty frugally, but at the same time, the bills come forward and at times we are blindsided by an expense we did not expect. Many of us are gong paycheck to paycheck...some of us have lost hope and know that recovery is pretty far off. I have the additional problem of my age working against me; regardless of the law, one cannot change the way some think, and they see someone over 50 as more of a liability than an asset, failing to realize that the experience we oldsters have and decent work ethic, they hire youth, which far too often leads to neither party being satisfied.

You face an additional burden that should never have been placed upon you, and that is your sexual identity. Discrimination is still rampant, even though it is often disguised. I used to think that such discrimination would be gone when I reached the age I am now, but I have seen that as it stands now, even the small steps toward Equality are not making much headway.

SSDI can smooth over some of the bumps, but it can never come close to actually supporting a life beyond the very basics needed to support said life.

Savings for some is often literally impossible, investments are out of the question...far too many suffer form this problem, and there appears to be little light on the horizon far the immediate future. You are surviving because of you tenacity, you refuse to give up...for that I commend you. We are alike in that we make do w/what we have and refuse to let circumstances tear us apart form those we love; my son and I, and in your case, your partner and you.

I honestly wish there was some way I could alleviate some of the burdens that you bear, but I am in survival mode myself. There is always the hope that this will all turn around and we will be able to keep up...like everything else, it will take some time before we see some positive results.

Stay strong my friend, something will break for you and sometime in the future we will able to look back and say, "let's never allow this to happen again, to anyone."

[unapatriciated]

146. I understand and it's sad that so many don't.

My son has been disabled since he became ill in 1991. He is now 30 and on SSI. There is no way he could live on the $800 a month he gets. What extra I have goes to supplementing him. He went back to school five years ago but due to his health can not take more than 2 or 3 classes a semester (he hopes to become self-employed as a graphic artist). No one will hire him with his disabilities. He has worked a few jobs but always ends up out of remission because they overwork him. He met a wonderful woman and they would love to get married but can't. He would lose about $400 a month and there is no way she could support him (she has a young son to support).

We are all just one catastrophic illness or loss of a job away from being homeless. I was fortunate I had family who helped when my son became ill or I would have been on the street with a very ill child. Even with great insurance (you fight them constantly to pay claims). I still lost my home, marriage and then my job. You have been dealt more than most and i send you warm wishes along with my admiration.

[MannyGoldstein]

11. while his left hand takes a knife to it

Spare us.

[NewJeffCT]

17. They're not "personal accounts"

they're private accounts or privatized accounts or broker accounts.

We need to stop using the RW wording - like how mercenaries or soldiers of fortune became the much more palatable "contractors" because most people think of contractors as the guy that fixes your roof or builds an addition on your house.

[defendandprotect]

43. Excellent points -- and including the term "entitlements" which suggests

that Social Security is some give-away program!

[eridani]

154. I don't agree. We need to take that word back

We paid into SS all our working lives, and we are goddam well ENTITLED to the payouts!!!!!!

[IndianaGreen]

18. Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson as Cat Food Commission co-chairs! Hello?

Both are avowed enemies of Social Security and Medicare. Who appointed them? Who decided to have a Cat Food Commission in the first place?

Answer: the same man that today is saying he will fiercely defend those programs.

We have been down this primrose path before.

[Chef Eric]

23. Sssshh! You members of the "professional left" are too concerned with pesky facts.

The important thing is that President Obama can score political points by criticizing the GOP!

:sarcasm:

[WorseBeforeBetter]

33. Tom Coburn on the CFC, too!

The Big O must really think we're f'in stupid.

[Safetykitten]

104. Hooray! Look over there, quick! Don't pay attention to the republicans he appointed.

[caseymoz]

19. First the ground zero mosque, now this.

That in the week that his Press Secretary upbraided liberals for abandoning the democratic party. Maybe Obama has finally got the message . . . on time for elections.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RufusTFirefly]

25. Thank Dog his catfood commission is going to save it.

This is election-time fear-mongering.

Way back in Nov. 2007, Paul Krugman observed in a column entitled "Played for a Sucker":

I don’t believe Mr. Obama is a closet privatizer. He is, however, someone who keeps insisting that he can transcend the partisanship of our times — and in this case, that turned him into a sucker.

Mr. Obama wanted a way to distinguish himself from Hillary Clinton — and for Mr. Obama, who has said that the reason “we can’t tackle the big problems that demand solutions” is that “politics has become so bitter and partisan,” joining in the attack on Senator Clinton’s Social Security position must have seemed like a golden opportunity to sound forceful yet bipartisan.

But Social Security isn’t a big problem that demands a solution; it’s a small problem, way down the list of major issues facing America, that has nonetheless become an obsession of Beltway insiders. And on Social Security, as on many other issues, what Washington means by bipartisanship is mainly that everyone should come together to give conservatives what they want.

NY Times

[Rosa Luxemburg]

34. The Democratic Party's policy is to preserve Social Security

The Reoublican Party want to privatize it along with Medicare, Medicaid. They want companies to take over with little regulation by government. People's retirement nest eggs have already taken a huge hit. Thanks to the republicans fiscal policies.

[defendandprotect]

44. Evidently, you don't understand Obama has set up "Cat Food Panel" loaded with Repugs...????

Yes -- Obama did this --

Granted the GOP has always wanted to destroy Social Security and Medicare --

but it is Obama who has now given them the means to do it!!

What a farce!

[KoKo]

165. It's Amazing! He's out in front of this...While his "Cat Food Commission works behind his BACK!

He has the "Audacity of Hope" to leak this to the Press while he knows full well what's going on.."behind his back."

It's starting to be very disturbing...these leaks from WH to their allies in the Mainstream Media...and then a few weeks or a month or so later we find the TABLES TURNED...and we've had SS CUT! It's starting to be a familiar pattern we've seen with OTHER PRESIDENTS.

Send out a Press Leak and then UnDO what you said you'd support (or "implied" you were leaking because you weren't in favor of some legislation or the other) and then when it's too late the folks out here in AMERICA find out YOU TRASHED THE BILLS and made SURE you BLAMED THE OTHER SIDE. USED BY PRESIDENTS FROM BOTH RIGHT AND LEFT FOR a few Decades.

[DainBramaged]

32. It's not a claim, they will, it's truth

[Rosa Luxemburg]

35. The sooner the people hear about it the better!

[The Backlash Cometh]

38. You know, if we had held Republicans accountable for their ill-fated policies,

it wouldn't be such an uphill battle to fight them now.

[HillbillyBob]

72. Some of us saw it years ago and we were derided as

unpatriotic, demented, doom and gloom.
I saw and understood that the rpigs would be downfall of our country I did not think that the damned dems would go right along with it , though I should have when most every dem i knew voted for raygun.
Im not smarter or anyting like that I just happened to get caught in the grinding wheels of puke injustice starting in early 82. Also due to my upbringing I learned to try to look for causes to try to find the'truth'.

[The Backlash Cometh]

78. God knows we have had ample opportunities to expose them.

Problem is, the Republicans are like pirates. They are so enamored of the loot they collect during the chaos they create, that it's become their only source of income. They forget we need years for the rest of us honest folk to earn the booty they keep stealing from us.

[L0oniX]

109. x1000

[defendandprotect]

39. What a farce!! Evidently, Obama has forgotten he set up "Cat Food Commission"--?

Now I suppose, Obama will find the alleged pressures from the GOP just too

difficult to resist -- so Obama will destroy the programs for them!!

We have to have a new candidate in 2012 -- and we have to be sure that we STOP

this destruction now!!

[Name removed]

139. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Honeycombe8]

40. This is a good message for the Dems this fall....because it's true and it affects everyone.

The Dems need to scare the daylights out of the public about what the GOP intends to do to the average worker in his/her retirement years.

The public should be scared of this, unlike the fake "death panel" scare....because this is true, and there's plenty of specific evidence. Even the GOP admits this. The difference is the fake stories the GOP tells its uninformed followers about how much BETTER their retirement years would be without Social Security. All we need to do to debunk that is to throw out some facts of what it was like for seniors before Social Security.

[defendandprotect]

45. At this moment, it is Obama attacking Social Security -- see "Cat Food Commission" -- !!

[Honeycombe8]

53. I did a while back, and found nothing meaningful. I don't know what the broohaha is about

that. I had found some blogs about it, but I don't get my news or facts from blogs. I use them to direct me to news or facts, but I found no valid sources cited for much of anything.

So...I don't know.

[defendandprotect]

61. Evidently, you don't consider Repugs in control of Social Security/Medicare dangerous???

Because it is a right wing panel Obama has set up -- Alan Simpson in control of

Social Security doesn't disturb you? Tom Coburn? Wow!

You don't know -- I'd suggest you find out --

[fascisthunter]

56. exactly....

[defendandprotect]

62. Frightening pretense by Obama going on here . . . !!

[fascisthunter]

68. I am convinced now

that an agenda has been devised long ago, and we are just watching theatre. I would say more, but I know my post will just get deleted... besides I know you know where I am coming from, so it isn't worth it. Keep up the good fight, we win in the end... as cynical as I am, we will win.

[defendandprotect]

71. Well, Cheney said it ..."right wing creates the reality and the rest of it live it..."

We should take what he said literally --

Corporate control of government is a cancer --


We would win, if we remain non-violent -- however, I don't think we can get past

the destruction exploitation of nature capitalism has brought -- and nature will play the

final cards here.

Don't know if we have time enough -- ???

[fascisthunter]

197. oh, the damage is going to be done, but in the end...

peace loving, good folks will win... there will be many sacrifices, and tons of victims(poverty, sickness, bankruptcy, death in war)... the masses are learning fast... the anger we see, even misdirected is just one more step towards the inevitable end of this economic pyramid scheme.

a message to the corporate sociopaths: you will always lose, because you truly are inferior to the good people you use and attack. Without us you never have anything...

[defendandprotect]

199. Agree with you re people . . . . wholeheartedly . . . .

I'm just note sure the planet is going to be here --

No one can guarantee that -- the destruction if vast --

[texastoast]

46. Yeah, but are the Dems bright enough to do it?

This one is a keeper and should be stressed every time a candidate steps up to the stump.

[Honeycombe8]

52. I totally agree. The Dems have been awful about pushing their message this past year.

Where's the outspoken, forceful Democrat these days? Why aren't they all over the tube talking about Social Security, the car mileage standards FINALLY being increased meaningfully, green technology jobs providing thousands of needed jobs, etc., etc.?

[defendandprotect]

64. Obama/New Dem has set up the "Cat Food Commission" ....

iow, Social Security is in danger of being overturned and destroyed right now

by Obama's actions in putting right wing Repugs in charge of Social Security/Medicare!

[russspeakeasy]

67. I think they are bright enough...just afraid to make a move

because they may lose their job...they don't know they will
lose it anyway..
Death by a thousand cuts.....

[bbgrunt]

170. Unfortunately, if you scare people enough they often submit to blackmail and compromise.

[tipscommissar]

54. Tom Tomorrow Nails It

http://www.credoaction.com/comics/2010/07/retirement-is-for-losers/

He nails it on this one!

[Chef Eric]

60. Thanks, and welcome to DU. nt

[nightrain]

90. bullseye! I hadn't seen the whole cartoon. Thank you.

[DailyGrind51]

59. With company pensions disappearing, this would only leave personal savings plans!

The vast majority of people have no concept of what they will require once they retire, and those who do need the money now just to "keep the lights on"!

[fasttense]

194. You get penalized for saving in this country.

The interest rates are so ridiculously low, not even high enough to off set the real inflation rate, that saved money actually loses value. So by saving you are actually losing money. Unless of course you have hundreds of thousands to put into savings, then you might get a decent interest rate, but not through a bank account.

[Vinnie From Indy]

63. I don't believe a word !

The Obama people appear to be doing the same thing here they did with healthcare and banking regulation. Give public speeches about protecting SS while setting the program up to be ravaged behind the scenes. As I have written before, the Robert Gibbs statement is the opening salvo in the Obama Admin's assault on the New Deal and Great Society programs. Any Democrat that tries to speak out against the backroom dealing to destroy these programs will be called a "professional leftist, dope smoking hippie extremist".

You can take that to the bank.

[NoodleyAppendage]

65. Rahm & Obama Backpedalling from Insulting the Base by Drumming up Red Meat.

So obvious, and unfortunately likely to work. At some point we will realize that we are the suckers and that "real change" is just a friggin' pipe dream.

J

[nilram]

69. it doesn't even matter if there would or wouldn't be a bail out for retirees today -- this is a

a bail-out for the stock market today, by infusing more cash. Cash goes in, market goes up -- and, oh, brokers and investment bankers get more cash, too. Surprise, surprise.

[Better Believe It]

73. Obama said nothing in opposition to cuts, means testing or hiking the retirement age in his speech.

His only criticism was leveled against "privatization schemes" which have "not been endorsed by party leaders and has attracted only a small number of GOP co-sponsors" according to the article.

It's safe to be against something that is not on the table. But, according to President Obama everything else outside of privatization are on the table!

President Obama assured us he wants to strengthen Social Security and not destroy it. How liberal of him!

He just won't say what he would like Congress to do that will strengthen Social Security.

The article pointed out that "With Social Security's finances strained, policymakers talk frequently about the need to address the solvency of the entitlement program. How to do so is less clear, as Obama's comments Saturday underscored.

Obama said he's ''committed to working with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who wants to strengthen Social Security.'' But he proposed no ideas for doing that."

[old mark]

77. IIRC, Argentina used their stock market for retirement funds for their citizens and

when it tanked, as they all will and do from time to time, there was no "bailout" for the citizens...they all got very poor very fast.

I have NO DOUBT the GOP would be against any such "bailout" of the working people in the US...they have never liked us before and there is no reason they should start now...it is a get richer quick scheme for their backers and supporters in the banking racket.

Again, it is the time for talk now...I hope he remembers this after the election.

mark

[orbitalman]

79. SURE.... a bailout for retirees...

just like the bailout for homeowner foreclosures. :sarcasm:

[RoccoR5955]

80. Claim?!?! They've been trying to do it for years and years.

Since Social Security's inception, they have been trying to get rid of it. This is news? How?

[crim son]

82. Will he do something about it

or just raise the alarm?

[Lifelong Protester]

84. Any possibility that there is some heat being felt on this issue

from MoveOn, DFA, and the NCPSSM? I know I have been alerted to contact my Senators and Congressman about this and have done so numerous times.

Has anyone else here?


Oh, and sorry about that Ryan chap. Luckily, he doesn't represent MY side of the state.

[still_one]

85. All I know is that Wall Street and the repukes have been pushing for years to privatize it. If the

economic meltdown and crash didn't occur it most likely would have happened.

Remember when the bush administration wanted to give people an "opportunity" to put their social security money in the stock market. It doesn't take much thought what would have been the consequences to social security if that had happened

When Gore said he wanted to insure that SS was put in a lock box that no one could use for other purposes, and the media and others mocked him, where are those who are doing the mocking now?

Social Security monies must NEVER be put at risk, and the promise of that safety net must always remain

[rasputin1952]

127. That's because they want more money, (not their own), to gamble

with. If, considering the odds against it, someone actually does hit it "big", they inevitably will leave the money in the market until it is gone.

Wall St has become very adept at gambling w/other peoples assets...and usually ring up a loss because all of the money tossed into the pot defeats the purpose, and everything goes down.

[NJmaverick]

93. Obama claims GOP trying to destroy Social Security

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama used the anniversary of Social Security to trumpet Democrats' support for the popular program and accuse Republicans of trying to destroy it.
Seventy-five years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday: "We have an obligation to keep that promise, to safeguard Social Security for our seniors, people with disabilities and all Americans — today, tomorrow and forever."
Some Republican leaders in Congress are "pushing to make privatizing Social Security a key part of their legislative agenda if they win a majority in Congress this fall," Obama said.
He contended that such privatization was "an ill-conceived idea that would add trillions of dollars to our budget deficit while tying your benefits to the whims of Wall Street traders and the ups and downs of the stock market."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100814/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_social_security;_ylt=AhQjsxSD0xdEhqZODt1SjDOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNvbm11ZW01BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODE0L3VzX29iYW1hX3NvY2lhbF9zZWN1cml0eQRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzcEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYw

[Orrex]

94. This is so important that it should be on DU's front page with 50+ recs!

(Dupe)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

95. He's right on the money on this one.

Recommended.

[Hoyt]

96. Republicans, we already have a mechanism for privatization -- IRAs, 401Ks, private savings.

So, leave SS alone. If you have money, you can invest it privately knowing that if you lose everything you'll at least have a few bucks coming in when you are old or disabled.

As to the so-called "catfood commission" -- I'm not too worried. It's a common strategy to load up commissions with assholes. If they come up with some asshole proposals, we'll defeat it (hopefully). Anyway, commissions can't do anything by themselves. Might even be good if the commission comes out right before the elections with some negative proposals that get voters' attention.

[pmorlan1]

97. "Everything is on the table"

Why is everything on the table? That sounds like an invitation to gut Social Security. The statements made by Obama before an election don't give me much comfort.

[The Wielding Truth]

167. God! Hasn't he learned that you can't start with an open hand when dealing with these political

terrorists!

[LadyJ333]

100. what a joke

Why did he stack a bunch of Republicans who are known to want to destroy SS in charge of his Deficit commission? Total bullshit if you ask me. I really am starting to think that he thinks were are complete idiots.

[emilyg]

101. Agree. Welcome to DU.

[LadyJ333]

103. also

I know for a fact there is plenty of money there for the next 30 years at least, they don't need to do anything but these people are hell bent on taking everything...

[Iowa]

145. You are correct...

According to current projections, the trust fund will not be exhausted until 2037 (27 years). At that point it is projected that incoming funds will provide enough for 76 cents on the dollar. So if absolutely NOTHING is done, the day of reckoning probably will not occur for 27 years, and will result in a 24% reduction in benefits. This really isn't an urgent issue.

Nixing wars about nothing, reducing defense spending, ending the stupid drug war (and emptying prisons in the process), single-payer health care, and raising taxes on the well-heeled would eliminate the deficit in short order and put us on the path to prosperity. Unfortunately, we need many genuine FDR-type Democrats in office to get these things done... something we don't have at the moment.

Welcome to DU.

[JJW]

105. Like HCR

Obama will not state exactly where he stands as President. No line in the sand, nothing he is willing to say is unacceptable and would result in a veto.

In my half century of experience with Presidents, Obama is the least committal. And that my friends, is not leading. No leadership results in lobbyists getting whatever they want on pay to play K Street.

Reality is that the US will go bankrupt by not addressing global warming.

[and-justice-for-all]

106. Pukes have been trying to do this for a long time...

They want to get rid of ALL socialized programs and services.

[L0oniX]

110. Dems and repukes are both destroying this country with their military spending.

[ProSense]

112. After all the speculation, President Obama states definitively that he will protect Social Security

The never satisfied critics: Not good enough, he needs to prove it.

Transcript:

<...>

That agenda is wrong for seniors, it’s wrong for America, and I won’t let it happen. Not while I’m President. I’ll fight with everything I’ve got to stop those who would gamble your Social Security on Wall Street. Because you shouldn’t be worried that a sudden downturn in the stock market will put all you’ve worked so hard for – all you’ve earned – at risk. You should have the peace of mind of knowing that after meeting your responsibilities and paying into the system all your lives, you’ll get the benefits you deserve.


Seventy-five years ago today, Franklin Roosevelt made a promise. He promised that from that day forward, we’d offer – quote – “some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against (poverty-stricken) old age.” That’s a promise each generation of Americans has kept. And it’s a promise America will continue to keep so long as I have the honor of serving as President. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. And have a nice weekend.

link

The President was extremely clear.

[ooglymoogly]

114. With such appointments to the catfood commission

These words ring hollow; They are no more than echoes of past grandstanding on issues vital to the majority, only to; In a preplanned move; Give away the store down to its foundations and shaft us with grand platitudes, assuming we must eat whatever, shit in a bow, is thrown at us;

On bended knee; Now coming to us, with tarnished credibility, in the clothes of a hypocrite suitor who has jilted us one time too many.

This president has made his allegiance very clear; Most glaringly to those believing in the sanctity of the constitution; That is all that stands between democracy and fascism and that he has sworn above all to protect and uphold; He does not and is not.

That he will do and say whatever we need to hear to win our allegiance. That when the chips are down; Screw those who put him and the DINO,s that surround him, in office;

Who will shaft us for the free flowing, ill gotten gains, of the corporates, having money to burn and pretend in thousands of pages of no more than propaganda; Demanding that we look at it through a rose colored lenses; Rather than the kaleidoscope of thousands of pages of sinister ramifications, written to appear something they are not, by Insurance Lobbies, that are no more than farce.

The only thing that rings true about this kabuki, is that he finally gets it;

That the folks who put him in office are not as flat out stupid as he has treated them. Too many of us see through his charades. And that the anger is real and palpable, and that he has made fatal and stupid mistakes, evaporating his credibility; Which angers us even more that he could be this stupid.

if pugs take over congress god forbid, as many are predicting, they will begin impeachment proceedings on their tried and true methods of nothing more than smoke and mirrors fatally damaging this prez. and any legacy or chance of legislation he once had in spades.

Choosing to court those who hate him over those who loved him is forcing a conundrum on those of us who once wanted desperately to support him, yet making that impossible with his clear damage to this country and its constitution and its people that are nothing but pug hugging policies.

Even with that boiling anger, we will get out and vote; In the hope of ameliorating that utter stupidity.

Enraged independents however, particularly the elderly, just might not; And make all of the above nightmare suicide, a reality;

Playing into corporate hands as they did in Brown v the DLC promoted prosecutor; At a time of the No COLA; With prices going through the roof; With rumors flying that SS is about to be fiddled with, Brown's victory should have been a foregone conclusion as Blanch Lincoln is today, once again thwarting DLC plans of corporate dominance.

The folks who own the microphone, will foment anything they can to make this kind of chaos a reality and ripe for far more draconian Patriot acts to strip us of any gold teeth left in our mouths, before dragging us of to a stinking pile of the dying that will, in newspeak, disappear, magically, as did the oil in the gulf.

The pugs have made their heartless and ruthless plans very clear; If we do not take heed and act, there is no future left to us.

[Frisbee]

115. Obama also states...

The Sun rises in the East, but he is appointing a bipartisan commission to study possible alternatives and says all options are on the table. He claims we may no longer be able to afford an Eastern rising Sun, and have to accept that if we would like to continue having sunshine into the foreseeable future, we may have to accept a Sun that rises in the North. Republicans immediately said anything less than a Sun that rises in the West is unacceptable and anti-American.

[JJW]

116. Trust

How can you trust an administration that tells you, the vast majority of BP oil spill in the Gulf has vanished?

[GreenStormCloud]

117. No SS COLA in 2010, none projected for 2011.

For the first time in 35 years, there was no Cost-of-Living-Adjustment in Social Security.

[DatManFromNawlins]

198. I haven't gotten a raise in 2 years either

Boo fucking hoo for them.

[go west young man]

122. That NYT article seems to cater entirely to the right.

It provides 3 Republican quotes but not a single dem one. And states that Republicans are against dismantling SS which is not true at all.

[mopinko]

123. we have a fierce defender on that commission, and she had the ear

of the president. that is jan schakowsky. we owe her a debt of gratitude for her central role in stopping bush's attempts to dismantle it. she is fighting it tooth and nail.

she has an opponent this year (she usually doesn't.) who is the head of the chicago tea party, and blogs on breitbart's blog, among others. he is spouting newt gingritch's droppings as though they were brand new pearls. he is trying to sell the private accounts thing. so, he is recommending a savings account instead of an insurance policy.

we are gonna beat this clown like he stole something. get yourself something to barf in, then watch this-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAxz8FSJxag

[Posteritatis]

124. Uh, aren't the Republicans accusing the Republicans of wanting to destroy it? (nt)

[MadHound]

125. And yet it is Obama himself who appointed the Catfood Commission

That has SS and Medicare cuts on the table.

What am I supposed to believe, his words or my lying eyes.

Here's another promise he made as well:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acc6Wn_BWlk>

So why should I believe him now?

[DWilliamsamh]

126. Well then maybe he shouldn't have packed the deficit commission w/ Repubs

[Faygo Kid]

131. This point and others like it are extremely well taken.

Why indeed, Mr. President, who I support??

At 59, I will not take kindly to this. At all.

[rurallib]

133. Incredible how the 'small gummint' GOopers are always at the bar

for 'gummint' money. These oily bastards have come up with more ways to skim taxpayer money than teir are grains of sand in Iraq - which is one of their scams.

jesus christ I hope someone in that administartion reads a bio of FDR so they understand why SS came to be and what it is supposed to do.

[pnorman]

134. "Obama claims........"

To summarize some of the Obama-sneerere here: "There's Not A Dime's Worth Of Difference Between....."

[Name removed]

135. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[totodeinhere]

137. Right. n/t

[PATRICK]

144. Perfect politics except

that it only works in Foggy Bottom and not only are all the people really hurt but the majority will mainly turn against the president. This confuse-a-Republican strategy that Bill Clinton seemed to profit from against Dole by "reforming" the welfare system is beyond ridiculous. Without any words from me I see the entire family and everyone around turned very much against Obama, whatever the illusions are about focus groups in the WH. And doing the health thing to ruin every issue won't change the meltdown one iotas. This is due of course to the media misperception the WH plays to like a sucker too full of himself, and the insane Reagan bipartisanship lie idealized uselessly- except for the corporate disastrous effects upon weak legislation. And of course they never fought entrenched illegality in the system much less entrenched animosity, nor the crooked voting 'reform" nor the purging of Dems only, nor the bent insanity of education "reform" and the utterly vacuous purposelessness of world killing war. Survival(except for corporate domination)is not on any short list of perceived priorities. Half measures for the devil is not a compromise anyone can make sense of.

No, they give some occasional comments, at election time, about the uncooperative GOP to sort of balance out the constant real robust feelings and fight against the Democratic wing of the party. Why bother? Enabling a GOP in constant state of self destruction(their own private Afghanistan) will purge the nation of government itself, the nihilistic dream of people the administration dreams of working with- to put down its base, its progressives, its majority membership.

Social Security seems locked in and sanity locked out of a new "reform" process well documented during the Health Insurance Bonanza spectacle and the easier Duncan tsunami of money drowning the public education system and every damn teacher and kid in its hypocritical path. It is called for good reason being sold down the river. Where there be the monsters and the GOP waiting with even unkinder hands. The makeup of the commission and the WH staff is too damning for the great token speeches. But there is no applause from the corporate media still determined to work some real doom on Obama, no bipartisanship, no support from the "left" and only the media memes of the trembling Dems which far from being substantially challenged dominate their fear-paralysis and near total political incompetence.

Such a WH will not easily if ever get it, and never in time. Only the latent fear of the GOP even gives the Dems a chance in November and their media mutes it, lies and confuses with a blank check.

[totodeinhere]

136. Please tell us something we don't know. Of course they want to destroy it.

Now the question is, what are you President Obama going to do about it? Talk is cheap, especially near an election.

[Name removed]

141. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[totodeinhere]

142. Wow, that's not a very flattering picture of today's young people.

As a young person myself just out of college, should I take offense at that? BTW, I don't have any tattoos but it's true that I spend a lot of time on my laptop. LOL.

[SteveM]

156. Well, it was a little inflammatory, perhaps to goad some action.

[purgetheGOPforever]

148. Trying to destroy social security

I cant believe the republicans are still trying to push privatization of Social Security after the banking scandal, market meltdown, and the economic disaster the Bush administration left us. Some people would call it political suicide. I have reached the conclusion that they live in an alternate dimension of reality where there is no global warming, corporations are our friends, everyone is a rugged individualist who pulls themselves from poverty to riches just by working hard. The kicker is that a group that largely identifies itself as "fundamentalist Christian" wants to mess with the only source of income of a group of people who we should be helping MORE. Every see the sweet old ladies at the grocery store, they are buying two or three things, they have shoes that are old and worn, you can tell they count every penny, and we want to go after their money now. So we destroy social security and these people go into the street because they have no money? And this is Christian family values? These people are Satanists (my apology for offending any Satanists)

[eridani]

149. Yes, Mr. President. With the aid of conservadems on your very own

CATFOOD COMMISSION!

[Hubert Flottz]

152. THe GOP wants to destroy democracy...

[TexasProgresive]

155. The won't come out and say it directly

but the GOP has been trying to destroy Social Security ever since FDR signed it into law. Good for Obama saying it. Let them try to defend their stance.

Robert Heinlein wrote: You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their emotions quicker than you can convince one man by logic. It doesn't have to be a prejudice about an important matter either. Zebadiah Jones from If This Goes On AKA Revolt in 2100

[CTuttle]

158. No one has mentioned Pelosi's sell-out...

Nancy Pelosi sneaked language into the rule that the House is voting on tonight regarding war funding.

Embedded in the rule is the requirement that the House will vote on the deficit commission’s recommendations in the lame duck session if they pass the Senate...
Update II: The rule is only good for the 111th Congress — it expires Jan 5, 2011, so a lame duck Congress would have to vote on it.

Update III: Pelosi got her wish. The House will have to give an up-or-down vote to whatever the Catfood Commission recommends. With Republicans and Blue Dog votes alone, cuts to Social Security benefits should have no trouble passing.

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/01/breaking-pelosi-sneaks-approval-of-vote-on-debt-commission-recommendations-into-rule-regarding-war-funding/

:wtf: :grr: :nuke:

[Dan]

192. They will need

prison camps to deal with the social unrest that will start and never end... it will truly be the end of the American Empire and the beginning of something we need not name.

[awoke_in_2003]

172. I seriously believe

there would be no bail out for retirees if the market collapsed. The poor and hungry do not make the news now, why would things change?

[yurbud]

176. then why set up a deficit commission packed with Republicans who want to eliminate SS?

[bigmonkey]

179. "Claims" is a very tentative word in this context.

It's an open and shut case, from my pov.

[LaPera]

181. 75 years ago today on this date....Aug. 14, 1935 - FDR Signs Social Security Act .......

And republicans have been trying to destroy Social Security, and privatize it for the corporations insatiable corrupt collusive rip-off corner-cutting greed ever since. (Bail-outs, Bankruptcy's, conniving crooked lying corporations will steal trillions of dollars of peoples retirement money just like they have stolen millions of people's pensions...No thanks)!

And the republicans have only gotten more ruthless & diabolical about destroying SS every year, trying desperately to get their foot in the door so they can obliterate Social Security forever.

[burnsei sensei]

183. There's an awful lot of merit to that claim.

nt

[easilynervous]

188. As someone on this thread earlier

what else can be done other than calling reps & Senators? I've seen an article mentioning the commission on AP but I'm not sure how widely received that's been and I've signed a few online petitions, although I'm not feeling supremely confident about the chances at this time.

[pitohui]

191. republicans are thieves, they've been trying to steal soc. sec. since reagan

keep saying it loud and clear, mr president

as for the editor who put "claims" in the title, how is it a "claim?" it's a pure statement of fact, the GOP flat out ADMITS they want to fuck w. soc. sec. and divert young people's payments into personal accounts (which means those younger people will end up w. almost nothing after they retired)

here's an experiment, which anyone can do, esp. if they're my age...look at that paper from the social security administration where it tells you how much you paid in and how much you're going to get every month

i'm embarrassed to say how much it is for me, but let's just say after three decades of work, there is no fucking way i could have retired if i had that money in a "personal account," unless i planned to retire for only one year and then shoot myself when the year was over

soc. sec. goes as long as i die, even if i don't have a great income that allows me to save the hundreds of thousands of dollars i would need to have an annuity to pay out what i would get from soc. sec.

it's the best investment by a long shot

the stock market has done nothing for a decade, hell, it did nothing for MOST decades, other than the 90s, and mostly it just walks around doing nothing in other mature economies too

the interest rate is nothing, real estate is fickle and isn't liquid anyway, i can't carve off a piece of my lawn to buy groceries when i'm 69

it's nice to have some savings/investment so you can maybe have some "extras" when you're old, but there's NO WAY that "personal accounts" ever add up to enough to retire on

younger people who can't even save up to pay for college, who start out at age 22 already in debt, but they think they're going to make money with their "personal accounts?" um, no, it just doesn't happen, people who are in debt young are never going to accrue much wealth, it just can't happen (well not unless they have the contacts to get the rich miracle job but that isn't 90% of us...)

personal accounts are so you can go on a cruise when you're old, but they can't provide the backbone of housing, food, gifts for grand-brats, etc.

[nightrain]

196. it's not just Republicans though, sadly...

[bobburgster]

193. Somehow I knew......

that "Obama Claims GOP Trying to Destroy Social Security" would be turned around on here and made his fault.

[Vidar]

200. Glad he's telling the truth for a change.