Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced legislation to re-structure Social Security. But rather than “re-structuring” the program, it simply gives huge tax cuts to wealthy while cutting benefits for people living on Social Security. The Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.
Transcription of the above video:
Republicans in Washington, DC, are still trying to destroy Social Security. The latest attempt is the Social Security Reform Act of 2016, by House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee chairman Sam Johnson. What Johnson is trying to do basically is essentially what he calls a restructuring of the Social Security system in the United States. By restructuring, he means reducing benefits for those who receive Social Security, while at the same time lowering the cap for wealthy Americans so that they actually pay less into the Social Security fund.
Now, their concern, allegedly, is that Social Security in the next 20 years is going to run out of money. It’s going to be paying out more than its taking in. That is a lie. That is not true. But, that’s the lie they’re going with, so let’s talk about this. If you’re afraid that this thing is going to run out of money, why would you go ahead and reduce the amount of money that people pay into it, because that’s what Johnson’s plan does. It lowers the cap for wealthy Americans, once they make over a certain amount, that amount is not taxed for Social Security. It’s going to lower that cap, so they will pay even less into Social Security. At the same time, beneficiaries who’ve made, I think, between $24,000 and $49,000 a year throughout their life, their benefits are going to be reduced by 28%.
That’s not how you solve the problem, idiot! That’s not how you solve any problem. ‘Oh, we don’t have enough money, so let’s take even less money in.’ That doesn’t work. For these people living off of Social Security, who get $1,100 a month, that’s just a tiny percent higher than making minimum wage, which is what most elderly people living off Social Security have to end up going to do. That’s why they’re greeters at big box stores, cashiers at grocery stores.
We have to take care of senior citizens, and in order to do that, we have to get rid of the Republican party all together. They got to go. The sad irony here is that the majority of Republican voters are over the age of 55. These people living off of Social Security, over the age of 65, 67, they’re the ones who put these people into power, who in turn want to cut their Social Security. Even though these elderly voters know this, they still vote them back in.
This is not a situation where I’m going to say you deserve what you vote for. Because studies have shown that as a person ages, their level of fear increases. Their bodies are no longer what they were. They are more afraid of being attacked, more afraid of terrorist attacks, more afraid of attacks on the streets, things of that nature. That is science that tells us that. But, you’re sacrificing your livelihood at this point. You’re so afraid of something that literally has a 0.00001 chance of happening to you, that you’re willing to essentially starve to death, or not be able to afford your medications, or not be able to make your mortgage payment, or your rent payment. That’s what you’re giving up.
Yeah, if you end up living on the streets without your medication, there’s a good chance you’re probably going to get attacked by someone. But right now, what you don’t realize is that you are being attacked already, by the Republican Party of the United States. There is no reason to stop taking money into Social Security, or to lower that cap. If anything, that cap needs to be eliminated. Because if somebody’s making a million, two million, thirty million dollars a year, if we tax that for Social Security, problem solved.
That’s what Republicans are just never willing to do. They don’t want to go for the easy solution of letting those who already make millions of dollars a year help fund this program. In fact, they wouldn’t even notice that the money is missing. But they’re not willing to do that. Instead, they stick it to the elderly, destroying what is called America’s Greatest Generation.
