Oh My .... Democratic Senators Say Social Security Needs To Be "Fixed"!!

[Itsthetruth]

Senate Democratic Party leaders have begun what they call a "Fix It, Don't Nix It" Social Security Tour.

Fix what?

Only something that is broke needs to be fixed and Social Security is not badly in need of repair! The slogan "Fix It" lends credibility to the Bush governments claims that Social Security is broke and needs to be fixed.

So how do these Senators propose to "fix" Social Security? They haven't said. They do however declare their committment to finding "bi-partisan solutions" to solve a Social Security problem that doesn't exist!

Didn't any of these Senate leaders question the tour slogan or does that slogan actually reflect their view .... that Social Security
is in trouble and needs to be fixed? They could have and should have adopted a slogan like "Don't Let Them Destroy Social Security" or simply "Defend Social Security". But, "Fix It, Don't Nix It"?

At best, one could believe they hired a amateurish p.r. firm that doesn't understand the battle to protect social security. Fire them!



---------------------------------------------------------------


Senate Democratic Communications Center
Friday, March 4, 2005

Democrats Set Out on “Fix It, Don’t Nix It” Social Security Tour

Senators Highlight Commitment to Strengthening Social Security During Town Halls Across America

New York, NY – Highlighting their commitment to strengthening Social Security, Democratic Senators today set-out on the two-day, four-city “Fix It, Don’t Nix It” tour across the United States. Led by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), the tour will allow the Senators to hear directly from the American people.

The three lead Senators were joined in New York by host Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who also attended in Philadelphia.

“There are long-term challenges for Social Security we need to address, and Democrats are committed to finding bipartisan solutions to meet them. It is what Congress has always done,” said Reid.

http://reid.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=232855

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Here's my 3 point plan:

-Elimiate the SS Tax Cap
-Raise Taxes on the wealthiest Americans
-Cut Pork Spending in Washington

:kick:

[fertilizeonarbusto]

2. Relax

This is called stealing the rhetoric away from * and hopefully cornering him into signing a sensible bill-like one whose main features are raising taxes on his buddies. His base won't like that. And, the Dems have to get out there and not leave the whole national stage to Chimpy. They have to make it clear the DO have a strategy-preserving SS-and are not merely nay-sayers.

[Itsthetruth]

7. Stealing Rhetoric????

"This is called stealing the rhetoric away from *"

Is that what it's called? I call it nonsense. If true, why not just call for privatization with a nice face? Now that would really steal the rhetoric away from Republicans! I suppose we could also "steal" their rhetoric on Iraq, Cuba, abortion rights, labor unions, etc., How would that sound? Well, that would make us all sound like a bunch of right-wing Republicans!

No. I don't buy the "stealing the rhetoric" away from Republicans argument. In reality, such "clever" tactics actually mean lending credibility to their rhetoric and it will come back to haunt you.

[wryter2000]

3. It probably does need some adjustment

Now that * has stolen the fund dry, it probably does need some adjustment to keep it working way into the future. However, any solution must include putting the money into Gore's lock-box, or it'll just get spent by Whistle Ass or a later repug again.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

4. Actually, it was that Satan Worshiping ding dong Reagan....

that started the THEFT of the Social Security Trust Fund. Reagan began bankrupting our country in the 1980's.

[wryter2000]

17. Yup

The more things change...

Isn't it interesting that * is a combination of all the worst qualities of Reagan and Nixon?

[Old and In the Way]

5. Damn right we should "fix" it.

We can make SS better and more secure. Bush has given us the opening to fix it properly. Increase/do away with the SS tax cap on income, rollback the taxcuts on the wealthiest 2%. That will fix it, and the deficits, fine.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

6. Listen to this person

You are seeing things pretty clearly.

[StopAnnCoulter]

8. Backbone?

The Dems have no spine whatsoever.

[Itsthetruth]

9. Fix It?

You want to "fix" it? OK. Lower the retirement age back down to 65 years old. The money is in the fund. We can afford it. That can be done now.

It's "fixed"!

Who is proposing that?

[asjr]

13. Semantics, semantics, semantics. The Dems are just

trying to keep Shrubbery from totally wrecking SS.

[Itsthetruth]

14. Not Good Enough

That's a very worthy goal and one that should be easily attainable, but, it's hardly enough.

I think the Democratic Party ought to fight any and all proposals to cut social security benefits and to make that public committment now!

Other proposals that are on the table include:

Replace Wage Indexing With Price Indexing

Increase The Retirement Age

Increase The "Early Retirement" Penalty

Increase The Social Security Tax On Workers

Just say NO to all of the above.

If and when an actual "problem" occurs somewhere down the road there is a simple solution. Increase the payroll tax on employers (not workers) and/or lift the income cap on social security taxes.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Don't Even Need To Be That Extreme

I actually did the math on this. We can extend the solvency by 80 years(!) by doing the following:

1) Raise the cap upon which both sides pay 6.2% to $108k.
2) Employee only pays an additional 2.4% (no company contribution) on the next $32k.
3) Raise the cap not at the rate of CPI but at the rate of wage change of the middle 95% of all income earners.

This generates enough added revenue to assure benefits at current schedules (adjusted to 2004 dollars) until around the 2nd decade of the 22nd century.

That's called making a mild revenue enhancing correction, not an overhaul. Overhaul means it's beyond simple "tweaking". SS doesn't need overhaul. It just needs a tune-up.
The Professor

[napi21]

10. They're sort of trapped because they all agreed with Clinton

when he wanted to use the surplus to stabalize SS. They can't just turn around now and say there's no potential problem.

I think they all are saying there won't be any problems until 2040, but the cap has been adjusted many times over the life of SS, abd even a minor adj. would make the progran stable into many decades of the future.

[GiovanniC]

11. The Republicans Have Basically Said

"Look, the Social Security trust fund will be bankrupt soon because we just cannot keep our paws off of it. We keep borrowing from it to pay for our tax cuts for the rich and we replace the money we steal with IOUs backed by the US Treasury -- and let's face it, those IOUs aren't worth the paper they're printed on, to be frank. We are not just fucking you over in the present, we are fucking you over in the future, too."

Or, at least, that's what they are saying when you cut through all the bullshit and get to the core of their argument about Social Security going broke.

And THAT part needs to be fixed. The money owed the Social Security Trust Fund should be paid back and it should be kept in a LOCK BOX (sound familiar?) that the government keeps is greedy, grubby little fucking mitts off of.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. I wonder how far $84 Billion would go to "fix" SS.

I do believe that all of these "leaders" voted to send more dough to help in BushCorps little oil venture.

[mmonk]

16. Why bother?

I hear even Wall Street is starting to back away from *'s plan.

[stray cat]

18. FIx it by nixing the permanant tax cuts - I would support that!

[OrlandoGator]

19. "Fix" it by raising the cap above income of $90,000

"Problem" solved.