Boehner Is Wrong. Americans Don’t Support Social Security Cuts

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/08/12/boehner-is-wrong-americans-dont-support-social-security-cuts/

by James Parks, Aug 12, 2010



Listen up, John Boehner: The public doesn’t like your plan to cut their Social Security so your rich friends can get another tax break. In fact, according to a poll released today by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, 68 percent of probable voters oppose cutting Social Security and Medicare to reduce the deficit. The poll was commissioned by the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF), MoveOn.org, AFSCME and SEIU.

Robert Borosage, CAF co-director, put it this way in a press conference call this morning:

Republican leaders get this exactly wrong. Last week, John Boehner was on television calling for continuing the top-end Bush tax cuts and for raising the retirement age for Social Security to 70. But as noted, the vast majority of Americans, including two-thirds of Republicans oppose raising the retirement age and a broad majority, uniting Democrats and Independents, are for ending the Bush tax cuts.

Those conservative politicians who want to use concern about deficits as an opening to go after Social Security or Medicare risk a backlash at the polls.

To help voters understand whose side the Republicans are really on, CAF is joining with MoveOn.org Political Action to launch a major campaign to enlist candidates who will promise to support Social Security and to oppose any cuts in benefits, including raising the retirement age.

Check out the Greenberg poll here: http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2010083211/deficits-and-economic-recovery

[av8rdave]

1. Know how to tell when Boehner is lying?

His skin turns orange.

[demigoddess]

2. not if they are going to have to chip in to support their parents

as we are probably going to have to do. Also I bet that a lot of the Gulf war vets that have come back with brain damage are on social security these days or their caregivers are(many are aging parents who cannot work while caring for their handicapped soldier). Gee, what a great way to support the troops, cut their safety net!!

[liberal N proud]

3. Is Boehner ever correct?

NO!

[me b zola]

4. This strategy worked for them in their fight against health care

A clear majority of Americans wanted/supported a public option, but day after day republicans would say that Americans didn't want "socialized" medicine and a health care system that would work for all of us. After months of saying this to the media, unchallenged by "journalists", public opinion polls began to reflect the lie that the republicans had been peddling.

[opihimoimoi]

5. These Boner Dudes have been sniffing the wrong shit...they think they can still fool the people

with their BS crap..

[laughingliberal]

6. K & R nt

[TheKentuckian]

7. Boner is a huge liar and an extreme fuckwit, too boot

[dkf]

8. Americans can't agree on any cuts to anything. We aren't good at sacrifice.

The underlying question is who pays and will they agree to pay. For all we know the average worker may have to pay a third of his/her income to support retirees. Can they afford that when wages are stagnant for years and years? Remember that Social Security is a workers program that doesn't tax investment income so you aren't taxing much of the wealth of the country. This is the average worker paying for the average retiree.