PERRspectives: Soc. Security Archives

Soc. Security Archives

	The Resurrection and Immaculate Deception of Paul Ryan Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan has become the perfect Republican Easter story. Each spring, Ryan reemerges with a new version of his draconian "Roadmap for America's Future." Despite being crucified each time by most Democrats, much of the press and even some members of his own party, Ryan nevertheless rises again, earning more followers (like Mitt Romney) each time. But at the heart of his budget plan - one that guts domestic spending, delivers a massive tax cut windfall to the... more Posted on April 8, 2012 \| Comments (0)

	Medicare, Social Security Mandates Dwarf Affordable Care Act As the New York Times suggested last week, the fate of President Obama's Affordable Care Act in general and its mandate that Americans obtain health insurance in particular may hinge on Justice Anthony Kennedy's notion of "liberty." While Solicitor General Donald Verilli posited "a profound connection" between health care and liberty, his opponent Paul Clement argued, "that it's a very funny conception of liberty that forces somebody to purchase an insurance policy whether they want it or not." Of course,... more Posted on April 1, 2012 \| Comments (0)

	Will the Supreme Court End Republicans' Privatization Dream? After another bad day for the Affordable Care Act at the Supreme Court, voices across the political spectrum are already pondering life after death for health care reform. Conservative Ross Douthat and liberal James Carville agree that overturning the ACA will help President Obama get reelected. Meanwhile, statements by Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney seemed to confirm David Frum and Jonathan Chat's shared conclusion that Republicans will do nothing to help over 30 million American who would be denied access... more Posted on March 28, 2012 \| Comments (0)

	Romney and Santorum Run Away from Social Security Privatization During last week's Republican debate in Mesa, Arizona, GOP co-frontrunners Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney claimed "courage" and "resolute" as the single words which respectively best described them. If so, the two rivals might want to take a look back at their records on Social Security. After all, in 2005 Santorum was the GOP point man in the Senate for President Bush's wildly unpopular Social Security privatization scheme. And for his part, Romney backed the diversion of Social Security funding... more Posted on February 25, 2012 \| Comments (0)

	Newt Gingrich's Big Idea "Where's the beef?" With that sound bite, Walter Mondale deflated the insurgent bid of the "candidate of new ideas" Gary Hart for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.* Twenty-eight years later, rising Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich may be about to have his own "where's the beef" moment. But the growing criticism from left and right expressed in articles such as "What are Newt Gingrich's Big Ideas?" do an injustice to the man of self-proclaimed "grandiose thoughts." Newt Gingrich does... more Posted on January 23, 2012 \| Comments (0)

	Introducing Newt Gingrich's 2-2-2 Plan If nothing else, former House Speaker and new GOP front-runner Newt Gingrich is all about keeping his options open. After all, Newt has gone through three religions and three wives. As it turns out, when it comes to Medicare, Social Security and the tax code, President Gingrich wants Americans to have options as well. In each case, Gingrich is offering voters a choice between the current system and a new one. Call it the 2-2-2 Plan. Of course, whatever you... more Posted on December 8, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	Rick Perry Shows Why He Got a D in Economics Back in August, Americans learned that among Rick Perry's miserable grades in college was a "D" in "Principles of Economics." Now we know why. His contribution to the GOP's flat tax one-upsmanship not only fails to simply the U.S. tax code. As it turns out, Governor Perry's "Cut, Balance and Grow" scheme would undermine Social Security, produce mountains of debt and require draconian spending cuts, all while ensuring a massive windfall for the wealthy. On that last point, the Texas... more Posted on October 25, 2011 \| Comments (1)

	Republicans Call for Gutting Social Security, Adding Trillions to Debt Over the past few weeks, the political chattering classes have been abuzz over 2012 GOP frontrunner Rick Perry's claim that Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme." (It isn't.) But largely overlooked in the parsing and the polls is the ocean of red ink the various Republican Social Security privatization schemes would inevitably produce. More than a decade after George W. Bush first proposed them, there's no escaping the fact that private accounts would divert trillions of dollars from Social Security... more Posted on September 17, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	Republicans Declare Generational War for 2012 In the wake of Monday's Tea Party Republican presidential debate, all eyes have been on Social Security. But while politicians and pundits parsed the candidates' assertions that America's retirement program for the elderly is a "Ponzi scheme" (Rick Perry), akin to a criminal enterprise (Mitt Romney) and a "tremendous fraud" (Michele Bachmann), the real story of the GOP strategy for 2012 remains largely untold. As their policies and pronouncements on Medicare and Social Security make clear, in 2012 Republicans will... more Posted on September 14, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	Introducing the Ayn Rand Social Security Protection Act The dual budget and jobs deficits dominating discussion in Washington has put Social Security front and center this week. While Republican heart-throb Marco Rubio claimed the retirement program is among those which "weakened us a people," his GOP colleagues opposed President Obama's call to extend the payroll tax holiday for another year. Meanwhile, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders proposed raising the income cap on payroll taxes from $106,800 to those making over $250,000 a year to help ensure Social Security's financial... more Posted on August 26, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	Rubio Claims Social Security, Medicare "Weakened Us as a People" Earlier this month, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) neatly summed up the Republican platform for 2012, declaring that Americans must "come to grips with the fact that promises have been made that frankly are not going to be kept for many." Yesterday at the Reagan Library, Tea Party darling and GOP rock star Marco Rubio explained why his party wants to break the promises Americans made to each other when it comes to safety net programs like Medicare and... more Posted on August 25, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	Republicans Double-Cross the Elderly Terrified by bogus Republican claims of draconian Democratic cuts to Medicare, elderly voters propelled the GOP to an overwhelming victory last November. Voters 65 and over, the only age group to support John McCain in 2008, boosted their share of the turnout to 21% from 16% two years earlier. Nationwide, Republicans won seniors by a staggering 59% to 38%. But now safely in power, Republicans are betraying the same elderly Americans who put them there. In the House, GOP leaders... more Posted on March 12, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	The Republican Betrayal of the Elderly Begins Perhaps more than any other factor, the overwhelming Republican midterm triumph was fueled by the elderly. Voters 65 and over, the only age group to support John McCain in 2008, boosted their share of the turnout to 21% from 16% two years earlier. Nationwide, Republicans won seniors by a staggering 59% to 38%. But now, their reward is a slap in the face. After all, from trying to repeal health care reform and threatening to shutdown the government to proposals... more Posted on February 20, 2011 \| Comments (0)

	On Social Security, Angle Takes Both Sides in One Day The 2000 presidential campaign witnessed a fierce battle over the future of Social Security, pitting the private, personal accounts of George W. Bush versus Al Gore's "lockbox." Ten years later, Nevada Republican Senate hopeful Sharron Angle has taken both sides in a single day. In her just-released ad titled, "Social Security," Sharron Angle did a quick 180 from her old privatization line. The spot proclaims "Sharron Angle is fighting for critical lockbox legislation." And as The Atlantic noted: Speaking to... more Posted on August 14, 2010 \| Comments (0)

	The Great Republican Rollback For years, retail giant Wal-Mart and its smiley face logo have lured American shoppers to its stores with a campaign to "rollback" prices. Now, as Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul was just the latest to make clear this week, the Republican Party is waging a rollback campaign of its own. From health care, Social Security and Medicare to civil rights, abortion and the U.S Constitution itself, Republicans are trying to turn back the clock to 1964, or 1933, or... more Posted on May 23, 2010 \| Comments (3)

	Right-Wing "47% Pay No Taxes" Talking Point Debunked In anticipation of the April 15 Tax Day, Republicans have resurrected their tried and untrue talking point dating back to the 2008 McCain campaign that over 40% of Americans pay no taxes. Of course, virtually all workers pay the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. And the new tax credits signed into law by presidents Bush and Obama, on top of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Ronald Reagan himself proclaimed, "the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best... more Posted on April 14, 2010 \| Comments (2)

	Health Care Fight: No Echoes of Bush Social Security Debacle On Monday, the AP portrayed President Obama's struggle to pass health care reform as the second coming of George W. Bush's unpopular and ultimately disastrous attempt to privatize Social Security. But while man each left the bill crafting to Congress and faced a growing backlash from frightened American seniors, the parallels end there. Democratic health care proposals, including the public option centerpiece, have maintained broad popular support while voters never trusted Bush or his party when it came to Social... more Posted on September 7, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	GOP: Health Care Needs More Senate Votes Than Social Security, Medicare Once upon a time - a time before the 2006 midterm elections consigned the GOP to minority status in Congress, a bill generally required 51 votes in the Senate to become law. But not content to rest on their record for filibusters in the 110th term, roadblock Republicans now insist even 60 votes aren't enough. But while Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) demand "75 to 80" votes to pass health care reform, it's worth remembering... more Posted on August 21, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Judd Gregg and the GOP's Triple-Double on National Debt Timing, they say, is everything. On the very night President Obama suggested Republican critics of his $3.6 trillion budget plan have a "short memory" when it comes to the sea of red ink he inherited, PBS' Frontline offered a stinging reminder in a documentary titled "Ten Trillion and Counting." Featured prominently among the Republican amnesiacs was Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), who just one day earlier slammed Obama's "banana republic" budget. Absent, of course, from Gregg's recollection for PBS was the... more Posted on March 25, 2009 \| Comments (31)

	Obama Hosts Republican Party of Fiscal Irresponsibility To the displeasure of many on both sides of aisle, President Obama on Monday will host the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Summit at the White House. While some Democrats question the timing of Obama's expenditure of political capital on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement reform, obstructionist Republicans are ridiculing the event even as they hype the myth of Republican fiscal discipline. And a myth it surely is. Far from the deficit hawks of Republican legend, the modern Republican Party from... more Posted on February 23, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	McCain Disagrees with McCain, Joe the Plumber on Social Security One day after failing to repudiate Joe the Plumber's slanderous claim that Barack Obama represents "death to Israel," John McCain will share a Miami stage with his ersatz working man. As it turns out, Florida is a fitting location for their next joint appearance. No doubt, the elderly voters there will enjoy the spectacle of John McCain's retreat on Social Security, which he recently called "an absolute disgrace" and his new domestic policy adviser/plumber Joe Wurzelbacher blasted as "a joke."... more Posted on October 29, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain and His Plumber Hate Social Security In the wake of last night's third and final presidential debate, a media frenzy has surrounded John McCain's latest human shield, "Joe the Plumber." But while reporters and bloggers continue to plumb the depths of Republican Joe Wurzelbacher's voter registration, unpaid taxes, distant links to Charles Keating, business license and other miscellany, one useful nugget for voters has emerged. As it turns out, John McCain and his new best friend for life both hate Social Security. In an interview earlier... more Posted on October 16, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	John McCain's Terrible Tuesday If John McCain has many more days like Tuesday, his only chance to get to the White House will be as a tourist. On the same day he dropped jaws with his joke about killing Iranians with cigarettes, McCain amazingly slammed Social Security as "an absolute disgrace." Then even as McCain's first-term balanced budget pledge was being pilloried in the press, Americans learned that 300 economists signed a statement supporting McCain which made no mention of it. And topping it... more Posted on July 9, 2008 \| Comments (3)

	Bush Taunts Children, Disabled, Blind, African-Americans... In Cleveland on Tuesday, President Bush offered Americans yet another example of the heartwarming leadership style that has so endeared him to 26% of Americans. At his latest invitation-only event, Bush made a 13-year old girl cry. Of course, making fun of children is all in day's work for George W. Bush. After all, as his past teasing of the blind, the disabled, U.S. soldiers and blacks confirms, President Bush laughs at the expense of most Americans. ThinkProgress tells the... more Posted on July 11, 2007 \| Comments (6)

	The Top 10 State of the Union Highlights Faced with negative polls and a pessimistic American nation, President Bush's just completed 2006 State of the Union Address naturally focused on the theme of "the Hopeful Society." But like the stillborn "Ownership Society" vision before it, Bush's 2006 SOTU will be remembered not for its policy program, but for its partisan political purposes. The top 10 highlights: 1. Demonize the Democrats The President continued Karl Rove's 2006 electoral strategy to once again run on national security and brand the... more Posted on January 31, 2006 \| Comments (6)

	Updated Social Security Document Library! The Perrspectives Social Security Document Library has just been updated. It now includes the Republicans' cynical game plan, the Wehner memo, the Trustees' 2004 Report, the 2001 report of the Presidential Commission, CEPR's simple fact sheet, and resources from AARP, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the Campaign for America's Future and ThereIsNoCrisis.com. Recent articles on studies and articles on the pension and retirement system reforms in Argentina, Chile and the UK are also included. In addition, links to... more Posted on February 8, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	State of Denial From the perspective of public policy and narrative, President Bush's 2005 State of the Union Address brought few surprises. But for sheer chutzpah, President Bush reached new heights. 1. The Social Security Shell Game As expected, Bush focused on Social Security privatization. Also as expected, he continued the selective use of numbers to create the phantasm of a "crisis." Needless to say, there was no mention of the $2 trillion cost and the serious risks of private accounts. Even more... more Posted on February 2, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	Perrspectives' Social Security Document Library With President Bush and the GOP launching an all-out campaign for their misguided Social Security privatization plan, Perrspectives has assembled a library of resources to help you evaluate the pluses and (endless) minuses of the Bush proposal. The Perrspectives Social Security Document Library includes the Republicans' cynical game plan, the Trustees' 2004 Report, the 2001 report of the Presidential Commission, CEPR's simple fact sheet, and resources from AARP, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the Campaign for America's Future... more Posted on February 1, 2005 \| Comments (0)

	African-Americans and the Bush Social Security Plan Only days after the Armstrong Williams paid-for-pundit debacle, President Bush used his January 12 "town hall meeting" to once again reach out to African-Americans. this time on his Social Security privatization plan. With a hand-picked audience of supporters present on stage and in the Washington DC audience, Bush was on the top of his game: "Another interesting idea...is a personal savings account...which can't be used to bet on the lottery, or a dice game, or the track. "Secondly, the interesting... more Posted on January 13, 2005 \| Comments (2)

	The Opt Out Society, Part II: On Your Own The impact of the Opt Out Society can be seen across the policies the Bush administration has pursued since coming to office. These are consistently defined by three characteristics. First is market idolatry; all public policy issues are framed in terms of market choice, competition, and privatization. From school vouchers to a market for pollution credits, any outcome that results is by definition the right one, since it was freely decided by the market. Second, the politics of the Opt... more Posted on February 9, 2004 \| Comments (0)

	State of Disunion Even with his shaky State of the Union address and dipping approval ratings, President Bush unfortunately remains in a strong position for the 2004 election. Saddam is captured, GDP is surging, and his reelection war chest has a staggering $100 million in the bank. And while his Democratic foes battle each other in primary contests across the country, Bush used his prime-time address to the nation to unveil his future for America, one grandly titled the "Ownership Society." The administration's... more Posted on January 21, 2004 \| Comments (0)