Payroll Tax Cut Scheme is a Severe Threat to Social Security

On Wednesday President Trump said he supported a permanent cut in the payroll tax which funds Social Security and Medicare, stating that even without the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis he would call for this cut. Senate Republicans have also suggested a payroll tax cut be part of any future economic stimulus package.

With record levels of unemployment, cutting Social Security and Medicare’s funding would extend the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic on these vital social insurance programs for decades.

“Advocating for a payroll tax is the latest evidence that the president has no intention of keeping his 2016 campaign promise of 'no cuts' to Social Security and Medicare,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance, in a statement. “The pandemic has disrupted all our lives and put the health of millions at risk. We will fight tooth and nail any attempt to use this crisis as a way to dismantle the retirement security of our earned benefits.”
                                                                                          source: Alliance for Retired Americans

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Social Security Advisory Board Urges Action Amid Pandemic
On Monday, the Social Security Advisory Board sent a letter to Andrew Saul, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), urging the agency to make sure Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries receive their stimulus payments quickly and automatically, rather than having to fill out special forms.

The Board’s mission is to provide the President, Congress, and the Commissioner with bipartisan guidance on how these programs can best provide economic security.

The Board is also asking the Commissioner to continue new representative payee reviews and other operational capabilities. Representative payees are appointed when a beneficiary cannot manage his or her benefits. SSA has decided to suspend these reviews, even though they are required by law.

“The Social Security Advisory Board is looking out for the millions of Americans who receive SSI benefits, to ensure they do not have to jump through unnecessary hoops to collect the money they need to survive,” said President Roach. “The SSA should follow its recommendations to help as many people as possible as quickly as possible.”

source: Alliance for Retired Americans

COVID-19 Post/information April 2, 2020

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Annual Retiree Voting Record

The Alliance for Retired Americans’ annual voting record scores every U.S. Representative and Senator on issues affecting current and future retirees.

For 2019, we reviewed 10 key Senate and House votes for legislation that affected the health and well-being of retirees, including skyrocketing prescription drug prices.

A description of the Senate and House votes are available here.

Find your current federal representatives here.

Strengthening Social Security Act of 2019

Senate voting this week to cut Medicare

Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security Issues:

• House Health Care Vote Appalls Retirees and Older Americans

• INDEX/ SUBJECT: From other sources, Retirement/SSA  SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2017

• The Washington Post is aiding and abetting Donald Trump’s stealth attack on Social Security.
  INDEX/ SUBJECT: From other sources, Retirement/SSA  MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

• The American people are buying into their phony Social Security crisis…
  INDEX/ SUBJECT tag: FB, Retirement/SSA  SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

• Leave Medicare Alone:
  INDEX/ SUBJECT tag: Capitalism/Economy, From other sources, Retirement/SSA
  TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

Tell Your Governor to Help Save Medicaid

Friend, Medicaid is in grave danger. If the Senate bill passes, the Congressional Budget Office says that it will cut one of every three dollars currently spent. This will leave states with fewer resources to help those in need. Several senators from both parties have expressed concerns about these cuts, but it is critical that governors also take a stand. As the debate continues your governor needs to hear from you. Send a letter telling him/her to protect Medicaid from this vicious attack. GOP health care talks are back in full swing, but despite new proposals being discussed this week, the bill’s cuts will still force people to pay more for less care and will hurt retirees, children, workers, and people with disabilities. Alliance President Robert Roach, Jr. contacted the National Governors Association (NGA) about what America's governors can do to stop the Senate health care bill from moving forward. NGA responded that governors are actively involved in talks with Congressional leadership. We need you to contact your governor and tell them to save Medicaid! Thank you for your activism and your support. Lisa Cutler Director of Communications and Digital Strategies Alliance for Retired Americans

House Health Care Vote Appalls Retirees and Older Americans

from “Alliance For Retired Americans”

May is Older Americans month, and Republicans spent the first week taking away health care. In a highly controversial and hurried vote, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), designed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed the House on Thursday afternoon and moved to the Senate for further consideration. The contested bill was narrowly approved, 217-213, and received no support from Democratic lawmakers. Twenty Republicans voted against the bill.

The bill contained many provisions that are harmful to both seniors’ health and retirement security. It allows massive tax cuts on the wealthy that will severely weaken the Medicare Trust Fund and will cut Medicaid’s funding by more than $800 billion. Under the bill, those with pre-existing conditions would no longer be guaranteed coverage without discrimination, as they are currently under the ACA. Among people ages 55 to 64, 84 percent had at least one pre-existing condition in 2014.

After the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined that a previous version of the bill would leave 24 million Americans uninsured in ten years, House leaders did not wait for a new CBO score for the amended AHCA and pushed ahead with a vote immediately.

"Trumpcare is a billionaires tax cut again disguised as a health care bill," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on the House floor Thursday, adding, "It's one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in our country.”

The legislation now advances to a much more closely divided Senate, where its prospects are unknown. Many Senate Republicans are skeptical of the AHCA and find many of its provisions problematic.

“This bill is appalling for all Americans, but particularly for older Americans,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “We will fight this bill’s dangerous and discriminatory aspects in the Senate, and we will not forget it when we go to the polls in 2018.”

In a statement to the press, Alliance Executive Director Rich Fiesta stated, “Retirees and older Americans who are not yet eligible for Medicare are simply appalled… [i]t is difficult to say what the cruelest aspect of this vote is, but raiding Medicare and cutting Medicaid surely remain at the top of the list.”

“The $8 billion that the GOP added to their plan at the last minute is a mere drop in the bucket compared to their cuts,” Fiesta said, referring to the more than $800 billion the bill cuts from Medicaid.

The Washington Post is aiding and abetting Donald Trump’s stealth attack on Social Security.

from “Social Security Works” The Post and the Trump administration are running parallel campaigns to divide the American people―pitting retired workers against people with disabilities―in an attempt to achieve their ultimate goal of dismantling Social Security. Trump’s Budget Director and Tea Party darling, Mick Mulvaney recently showed his hand in an interview with CNBC when he said: “Do you really think that Social Security disability insurance is part of what people think of when they think of Social Security?” This is a long-favored tactic of opponents of Social Security who seek to employ a divide-and-conquer strategy. The Washington Post, in a recent front-page article, attempted to justify the Trump administration’s argument for Social Security cuts by arguing that working-age people in rural America are using Social Security Disability Insurance as a form of unemployment insurance. But our friends at TalkPoverty.org recently exposed the truth about the Post article―it was based on completely inaccurate data that overcounted the number of Social Security Disability beneficiaries by literally millions. Not bound by facts, the Washington Post and the Trump administration are using false numbers and an underhanded scheme to divide the American people, cut disability insurance and dismantle Social Security. It’s time to hold the Washington Post accountable! Click here to send a letter directly to the Washington Post to demand they retract their false numbers and stop their attack on Social Security beneficiaries. Donald Trump may have run on a promise to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, but in his first failed piece of legislation he attempted to gut Medicare and Medicaid to give $1 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthy. Don’t let the Washington Post give cover to Donald Trump’s attempt to destroy Social Security. Write to the Washington Post and demand a retraction of the inaccurate and dangerous portrait they are painting of Social Security. Together, we are holding the media and our elected officials accountable as we fight to protect and expand Social Security for current and future generations. Thank you, Michael Phelan Social Security Works

The People’s Budget –

Next week, Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives will introduce a budget that calls for $7 trillion in cuts to programs for low income individuals and seniors – including savage cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
Thankfully, there’s a progressive alternative that strengthens our social safety net and creates 3.6 million new good-paying jobs while protecting Social Security.
The People’s Budget – introduced by the Congressional Progressive Caucus – keeps Social Security’s trust fund separate from the general budget fund, just as the law requires, and protects it for current and future generations. It also endorses increasing Social Security’s modest benefits separate and apart from the budget.
Take a stand against cuts to our earned benefits and in favor of expansion! Show our progressive leaders in Congress that we have their backs by becoming a co-sponsor of The People’s Budget today.
This budget recognizes that our Social Security system is the solution to our growing retirement security crisis and makes clear that its funds are dedicated exclusively to funding those earned benefits.
Right now, the average Social Security benefit for current recipients is just $14,000 a year. And two-thirds of retirees depend on Social Security benefits for the majority of their income.
We are not going to solve rising levels of income inequality or the retirement security crisis through cuts to critical programs. That is why we must stand united in our opposition to a Republican budget – balanced on the backs of hardworking Americans – and instead support The People’s Budget, which benefits the middle class and working families of this country.
Please, become a citizen co-sponsor of The People’s Budget today to protect the future of our earned benefits.
Republicans will use their budget as a blueprint for their election year policies and it is more important than ever that we stand united in our message of expansion.

The American people are buying into their phony Social Security crisis…

This week, Social Security turned 80 years old and we’re celebrating with birthday parties across the country.
Unfortunately, the right-wing (GOP/Republicants) is celebrating too, but for very different reasons. They are celebrating that the media and the American people are buying into their phony Social Security crisis.
The New York Times recently wrote that, “Rising national debt levels may threaten the ability of millennials to collect on promised Social Security and Medicare benefits.” And this phony talking point is sinking in – in fact, recent surveys show that 43% of young people believe that Social Security won’t be there for them when they retire.
Thankfully, we have the facts on our side and we’re prepared to fight back!
On Social Security’s 80th birthday, fight the renewed attacks on Social Security.

For 80 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American in full and on time. And the message we need the American people to get is that Social Security is not going broke. It has a $2.8 trillion surplus, can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 19 years and approximately 80% of benefits owed after that if no action is taken.
And when we finally ask the wealthy to start paying their fair share, we can not only extend the lifespan of the Social Security trust fund, we can increase benefits for the majority of Americans.

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CEOs With 1,200 Times Your Retirement Savings Want To Cut Social Security

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Leave Medicare Alone:

“Robert Reich knows a thing or two about the economy, having served as labor secretary under Clinton. Check out his plan to fix the budget—without destroying the safety net that working Americans rely on.”