They Want to Do What to Social Security?

Look closely at the photo below.  If the Republican Party has its way you will see much more of this...

The Republican Senate have suddenly become deficit hawks. This is a surprise to those of us who watched the Bush Administration turn the Clinton budget surplus into the biggest deficit in our nation's history leaving President Obama, with not only a huge deficit, but also with an economy on the brink of collapse.

What isn't surprising is their idea of a solution. They have put "everything" on the table, including Social Security and Medicare. They insist on spending seven hundred billion over ten years by keeping the Bush tax cut for millionaires, yet they have no pang of conscience cutting cost of living increases for the elderly, raising the retirement age or greatly reducing Medicare benefits.

There is a solution to the entitlement problem without resorting to breaking the promise the government made to their senior citizens.

I spoke to Dr. Donna Tillman, Professor Emeritus, International Business and Marketing of California State University, Pomona.  She told me, "The way to make Social Security solvent for the future is to raise the upper limit upon which people have to pay into the system. Currently the limit is about $106,800.  Therefore, if you make more than that, no social security tax is taken out.  Both left and right think tanks agree that this one solution would make the system solvent into the far distant future.  If you make five billion dollars a year you still only pay (Social Security Taxes) on the first $106,800.  That is the problem.

The way to make Medicare solvent is to allow everyone participate voluntarily.  (Thereby enlarging the pool of beneficiaries with healthy payees and reducing the cost per person).  

Raising the retirement age is exactly the wrong thing to do.  Lowering the retirement age makes far more sense in a country with nearly ten percent unemployment.  This one act would open hundreds of thousands of jobs to the jobless."

Naturally, none of this information was released prior to the November 4th election.  Social Security is a promissory note issued by the United States government to every American worker when they first become employed.  It tells them that by paying the FICA tax, they are paying into a retirement fund that is guaranteed to be there when they need it at sixty-five.  Yes, there are some very healthy senior citizens who can and want to work beyond retirement age.  If they continue to work, they continue to pay into the system.  If, however, they are not able to work, or choose not to work, the promise that the government made to them when they signed up for social security should be honored.  If it is not, the government is perpetrating fraud. 

You can find out more about my views on my website at www.ackatt.com. 

    

Buyer's Remorse...

Buyer's Remorse...

On Tuesday, November 2nd, the United States electorate spoke or at least 41.5% of the spoke.  The Democrats held on to the Senate, barely, and the Republicans took back the House of Representatives. The question now becomes what do the Republicans intend to do with their partial victory.

Tea Party Candidates were elected to both houses of Congress and far-right enthusiasts like Senator Elect Rand Paul from Kentucky want to roll back all of the legislation passed by the last Congress.

For your information, this includes bills on Wall Street Regulation and the Health Care Legislation. Republican Minority Leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell has already made an appearance at the Heritage Foundation (the Republican Think Tank) stating that Cap and Trade, the legislation to prevent Global Warming was DOA.  You can expect attempts to freeze or diminish Social Security, lower payments to Doctors accepting Medicare, an attempt to raise the retirement age, again, as well as a push to privatize the Social Security Program putting it in the hands of Wall Street, the denizens of which did so well with your 401K and pension plans in 2008. You can also expect no more unemployment extensions for those of you who have been out of work since the beginning of the recession and no proposals passed to provide good paying construction jobs by financing public works to improve our aging and failing infrastructure.

The push to have the United States regain technological superiority by funding research into energy alternatives is also up on the chopping block.  The oil and energy companies who funded all those Republican PACs and SUPERPACs will want a return on their millions invested.  The United States Chamber of Commerce will make sure their dollars speak loudly and there will be no hikes in minimum wage. The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell will be under attack as well as the court decision Roe vrs Wade which gave a woman the right to choose what to do with their own body.  In fact, if enough Blue Dog Democrats in the Senate join with the Republican Party you can basically look forward to a return of the Bush years which brought you two vastly expensive wars, deregulation of any environmental legislation, zero quality control and repeal of  some of the OSHA laws that protect worker safety.

The Department of Education could be dismantled in an era where American Schools trail fifteen countries in math and science.  The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy could be dismantled when all the rest of the globe is worried about climate change.  Did the average American voter realize what they brought upon themselves by a vote for the Republican Party in 2010, probably not.

The fault here lies with the Democratic Party and its nominal head, President Barrack Obama.  The Democrats did a terrible job of marketing their accomplishments and let the Republicans control the message delivered.  Lies like calling the Health Care Legislation, "Death Panels," misrepresenting the cost estimates of programs like the auto bailout which has resulted in a profit for the Government as soon as GM completes their IPO. The President did come out of the Oval Office late in the election cycle, but unfortunately too late to move the electorate back to the Democratic column.  What the Democrats needed was an organized, on message campaign, touting their accomplishments.  What they got was individual races with no central theme where the candidates ran like herds of buffalo away from legislation that was beneficial to the general public. The Democrats need to wake up and learn how to present their successes.  They need to know how to frame the conversation before their opponents do and they need to do this before 2012.

You can follow my blogs on my website www.ackatt.com, or fan my block talk radio show, AC Katt's Books and Politics on Thursdays at noon-eastern, eleven-central, ten-mountain and nine-pacific time at www.blogtalkradio.com/ackatt.