On FDR's 137th Birthday, 200+ Democrats Unveil Bill to Expand Social Security...

[guillaumeb]

On FDR's 137th Birthday, 200+ Democrats Unveil Bill to Expand Social Security So 'Seniors Can Retire in Dignity'

From the article:

In a move progressives celebrated as an essential step toward ensuring that no one retires into poverty, over 200 House Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would protect and significantly expand Social Security benefits by subjecting the earnings of wealthy Americans to the program's payroll tax.


Additionally, the Democratic bill would prevent Social Security benefits from eroding over time by more accurately adjusting them to rising costs of living.

To read more:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/30/fdrs-137th-birthday-200-democrats-unveil-bill-expand-social-security-so-seniors-can?cd-

In contrast, the GOP wants to essentially eliminate Social Security and force most people to work until they die.

[BootinUp]

1. Some day it will happen. Nt

[guillaumeb]

2. For the sake of the country,

it must happen.

[appalachiablue]

3. Excellent, it's imperative, the date is significant.

- GERMANY was the first country to have an old-age social insurance program, in 1889.

- FINLAND recently abolished homelessness.

- SSA.gov. Germany became the first nation in the world to adopt an old-age social insurance program in 1889, designed by Germany's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. The idea was first put forward, at Bismarck's behest, in 1881 by Germany's Emperor, William the First, in a ground-breaking letter to the German Parliament. William wrote: ". . .those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a well-grounded claim to care from the state."

Bismarck was motivated to introduce social insurance in Germany both in order to promote the well-being of workers in order to keep the German economy operating at maximum efficiency, and to stave-off calls for more radical socialist alternatives. Despite his impeccable right-wing credentials, Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would Pres. Roosevelt 70 years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: "Call it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me." https://www.ssa.gov/history/ottob.html
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- 'Finland Found the Answer to Homelessness. It Couldn't Be Simpler,' The Guardian, 2018. I recently travelled to Finland to understand how it had done this. It turns out its solution is painfully simple and blindingly obvious: give homes to homeless people. As Juha Kaakinen, who has led much of the work on “housing first” in Finland, explained to me when I met him in Helsinki, “this takes housing as a basic human right” rather than being conditional on engaging in services for addictions or mental health.

The evidence from Finland – as well as numerous other pilot schemes across the world – shows the opposite is true. When people are given homes, homelessness is radically reduced, engagement in support services goes up and recovery rates from addiction are comparable to a “treatment first” approach. Even more impressive is that there are overall savings for government, as people’s use of emergency health services and the criminal justice system is lessened.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/12/finland-homelessness-rough-sleepers-britain

[guillaumeb]

4. We are told that it is not possible here.

The war budget goes up, so social spending must be cut.

Never the reverse.