April 2011: Obama lying about wanting to raise the Social Security payroll cap

[brentspeak]

Playing a town hall for suckers:

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/04/19/obama-reaffirms-desire-to-lift-social-security-payroll-cap/

Obama Reaffirms Desire to Lift Social Security Payroll Cap
By: David Dayen Tuesday April 19, 2011 10:28 am



The President held a town hall meeting in Annandale, Virginia, and these are usually events that serve as a conduit for a message that the President wants to get out. Therefore, it’s worth paying attention to his entire answer about Social Security:

Q Hi, Mr. President. My name is Vinita Griffin (ph). I’m a late student here at Northern Virginia Community College. I’m in my second career now. My question is, in about 15 years I’ll be eligible for Social Security. And I’m part of the baby boomer generation, and I don’t know if there will be Social Security when I get ready to — and I probably won’t retire for another 25 years, I’m thinking.

THE PRESIDENT: No, you look pretty young. (Laughter.) You look like you’re — you look like you’ve got a lot of career left in you.

Q I’m about your age. But, yes, so I figure another 25 years I’ll be working. But I don’t know if it will be there when I need it, and I’m concerned about that.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, let me talk about Social Security. The big drivers of our deficit are health care costs. I mean, the thing that we’ve really got to get control of is Medicare and Medicaid. That’s what’s skyrocketing really fast. Because not only is the population getting older, but health care costs are just going up a lot faster than people’s wages and salaries — or tax revenues to the federal government.

Social Security is a problem but one that we can solve much more easily. So the first answer to your question is, Social Security will definitely be there when you retire. (Applause.) I’m absolutely confident about that. I am absolutely confident about that.

Now, here’s the thing. If we don’t do anything on Social Security, if we just don’t — if we don’t touch it at all, then what would happen is, by the time you retire, or maybe just a couple years after you retire, you might find that instead of getting every dollar that you were counting on, you’re only getting 75 cents out of that dollar. Because what’s happening is the population is getting older; there are more retirees per worker and more money starts going out than is coming in.

So we do have to stabilize Social Security’s finances, but we can do that with some relatively modest changes — unlike health care, where we’ve got to get in and work with providers and really get some much more substantial reforms. With Social Security, it’s just a matter of tweaking how it currently works.

Now, politically, it’s hard to do. Politically, it’s hard to do. For example — I’ll just give you one example of a change that would make a difference in Social Security. Right now you only pay a Social Security tax up to a certain point of your income. So a little bit over $100,000, your Social Security — you don’t pay Social Security tax.

Now, how many people are making less than $100,000 a year? Don’t be bashful. (Laughter.) The point is, for the vast majority of Americans, every dime you earn, you’re paying some in Social Security. But for Warren Buffett, he stops paying at a little bit over $100,000 and then the next $50 billion he’s not paying a dime in Social Security taxes.

So if we just made a little bit of an adjustment in terms of the cap on Social Security, that would do a significant amount to stabilize the system. And that’s just an example of the kinds of changes that we can make. (Applause.)

So we are going to have to make some changes in Social Security, but it’s not the major driver of our deficit. And what I’ve proposed is let’s work on Social Security, but let’s not confuse that with this major budget debate that we’re having about how we deal with both spending and revenues because that is the problem that is going to require some really hard work and some bipartisan cooperation. Okay?

Note the double lie in Obama's response. First, he lies by strongly implying that he would use his office to fight hard to have the FICA cap lifted (he has done absolutely nothing of the sort in all the time he's been in office). In fact, Obama, in both his presidential campaigns, has shamelessly pandered that he would fight to have the cap lifted or removed.

The second lie is found in the last paragraph: "And what I’ve proposed is let’s work on Social Security, but let’s not confuse that with this major budget debate that we’re having about how we deal with both spending and revenues...".

He said he didn't want to introduce any measures to lift the FICA cap as part of a budget because, as he admits, Social Security doesn't drive the deficit. And yet here we are, two years later, with Obama very much introducing the benefits-cutting Chained-CPI measure (but not a payroll tax cap lifting measure, which doesn't cut benefits) as part of a budget.

[spanone]

1. k&r...

[RKP5637]

2. Americans are slow learners ... generally in the dark ... apple pie, motherhood and deer in

the headlight looks when the shit hits the fan.

[Marr]

9. You can hardly blame them-- this guy won the office by pretending to be a liberal.

That's certainly how he talked on the campaign trail, both times.

[RKP5637]

10. Yeah, quite true. To me, he's R-lite. n/t

[sendero]

3. Why would you expect..

.... Obama to tell the truth and operate with integrity. There aren't 10 people in DC that do.

Time to get over the idea that Democrats are way better than Republicans in that regard because they aren't. Obama operates in the same mode Bush shrub did, give a speech, lay out your beliefs and plans and then go back to your office and do the opposite.

Ever wonder why they do this? Because they can. Their bosses told them to and most Americans have the attention span of a gnat and there IS no 4th estate journalism in this country any more save occassionally the Nation or Rolling Stone.

Yes it is that bad.

[duffyduff]

7. The infiltration by the enemy of the Democratic Party is ongoing

The last real Democrat to have gotten the presidential nomination was John Kerry.

And look what he is doing now.

[RKP5637]

11. It is very bad. And what is really sad, the majority of Americans still don't get what the

F is going on ... so they sit around bashing each other than figuring out where the F this country is headed. Americans fall for all of the games and propaganda ... and as you say, and I strongly agree, "... most Americans have the attention span of a gnat and there IS no 4th estate journalism in this country any more save occasionally the Nation or Rolling Stone."

[magical thyme]

4. they missed his 3rd lie.

"So we are going to have to make some changes in Social Security, but it’s not the major driver of our deficit."

In fact, it is not a driver at all in the budget deficit. It is separate from the budget and has its own accounting. In fact, the "budget" owes Social Security...has been borrowing from the extra FICA tax that Boomers paid in order to finance our own booming numbers.

[duffyduff]

8. Of course he's a liar

He wants the American people to pay for the fuckups of his Wall Street masters who destroyed the economy. He said so right before he was inaugurated.

Note he has done virtually NOTHING about fixing the economy or reversing unemployment, just some half-assed stimulus package that did little to help things.

[L0oniX]

14. Going after US war criminals is off the table ...should have been a warning of things to come. n/t

[Marr]

5. But that would only help working people.

Who gives a shit about them?

No, no-- sensible woodchucks know that issues like this, healthcare reform, etc., are big opportunities for bailing out big business interests, like the insurance industry, or rigging the whole economy to be even more in favor of the rich, as with Chained CPI.

[duffyduff]

6. He's a tool of Wall Street crooks and billionaires

There is precedent for somebody like him, and that is Cory Booker via the Bradley Foundation.

[RKP5637]

12. He's developed a real creditability gap with me, and similar for

many people I know. I casually listen to what he says ... because his direction blows in the wind.

[L0oniX]

13. He has not learned that the shit he says will be on the net forever.

[bvar22]

16. They know.

But they also know THIS:


[font size=4]So what are they going to do?
Vote for a Republican?
Hahahahahahaha![/font]




You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
[font size=5 color=firebrick]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[bvar22]

15. If all the campaign promises of Raising the Cap and NOT cutting SS were big LIES,

why should we believe him when he says that there will be "protections for the elderly and Low Income"?

In my opinion, one would have to be a damned fool to believe him now,
but THAT is what the 3rd Way is pushing on DU now.





Obama: Don't Cut Social Security
http://savesocialsecurity.tumblr.com/

[woo me with science]

17. +1

[neverforget]

18. You see, he was forced to do this by the Republicans even though he won 2012

easily. If he didn't do this, then Republicans would hate him and they wouldn't negotiate with him. Oh wait....