Privatization of Social Security: What Kind of Security is That?

by Nomad

When it comes to Social Security, the differences between the two parties could hardly be more clear.

 

Here's What the GOP Should Expect If They Dare Cut Social Security Benefits

by Nomad

When it comes to cutting Social Security, the Republicans are playing with fire. As usual, the GOP appears to be heading towards a showdown it cannot win. 

As Reagan famously said,"There you go again." And the Tea Party Republicans are at it again, trying to find a way to cut Social Security. Another crusade bound to end in tears. 

From opposition to same-sex marriage to the rapprochement to Cuba, from criminalizing abortion to immigration, it's staggering how many unpopular positions the Republicans have decided to take up.
Now they are itching to get their hands on Social Security despite the fact that seventy-six percent of all Americans think Social Security is worth the costs to taxpayers, according to a poll in 2012. 

Attempting to slice and dice Social Security by labeling it a “big-ticket entitlement program” is surely going to blow up in the conservative faces. It's practically guaranteed.

Vice Presidential Debates- What You Didn't Hear

The Great Society, Medicare and the Summer of ‘65

The summer of 1965 was one of many critical moments of American history. The Great Society, President Johnson's ambitious policy to overhaul the country, became a reality. However, at the same moment, a new movement of a different kind was emerging. It was a kind of backlash that would take 15 years to mature into the conservative movement.

With Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney’s announcement of Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate, there’s bound to be a lot of talk about Ryan’s budget proposals, particularly the proposed reforms in Medicare and Medicaid. Democrats are no doubt pleased with Romney’s decision since any changes - no matter how necessary- to these social programs are bound to create some fear with some affected voters. 

Still, something has to be done. Everybody agrees on that, at least. Health care is the biggest driver of future budget deficits.

It is true that Ryan’s tweaking of his original plan should have removed some of this understandable anxiety and yet when it comes to something this complex, voters on both sides of the political spectrum are deeply suspicious of any tinkering. Even the ultra-right wing Tea Party movement is opposed to medicare cuts.
One source- correctly or incorrectly- captures the mood of the anxious voter.

Ryan’s plan has been rightly called “a thinly disguised assault on Medicare.” The House GOP knows they have no immediate hope of ending Medicare, but they’re telegraphing their long-term plans to cut all the cords holding up America’s social safety net. That should be a brutal wakeup call for all of us as we get a glimpse of how they would reshape America as a less kind, less gentle nation. They don’t plan to stop at Medicare; Social Security won’t be far behind.

It would be tempting for Democrats to scare the elderly voters with exaggerated fears about what Romney and Ryan might do. Even without the medicare fears, the less than charismatic Paul Ryan is certainly not going to be giving the Romney campaign anything close to a boost.

As I said, I will leave further discussion of that topic to others. 

Instead, I would like to take you back forty-seven years to a small town in Missouri where important events were happening.