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On Fox News Sunday, ultra-conservative Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) came out against cuts to Social Security. Without directly saying it, DeMint seems to have been advocating for privatization, but the important thing here is that, at least rhetorically, DeMint has put Republicans in firm opposition to “cuts” to Social Security. Transcript from Time:
DEMINT: Well, again, I’ve introduced legislation that shows we can cut the cost of Social Security without all of these cuts that they’re talking about.
This is what we’ve done for years, Chris, is we’ve cut benefits and raised taxes on Social Security without changing it from a political slush fund, which is what it’s been for the last two decades, to a real savings program. So we need to look at real reform before we go straight to Social Security, which people have paid for, and start cutting things. There are other things that they did not consider, like repealing “Obamacare” and taking back money that — from — you know, privatizing Fannie Mae, privatizing General Motors. All of these things need to be on the table before we start cutting programs like Social Security that people have paid for.
Contrast this with President Obama, who has remained effectively mute on the recommendations to cut Social Security from the co-chairs he appointed to his deficit commission, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles.
Republicans are setting themselves up as the defenders of Social Security against any cuts, while the Obama teaam is fast making sure people see Democrats as the party intent on cutting your Social Security benefits.
If you thought the 2010 election–in which Republicans were able to cast themselves to seniors as the protectors of Medicare against Democratic cuts–was bad, just wait for 2012. Republicans are already preparing to run the same play in 2012, but this time with Social Security. Democratic losses among older voters will be a blood bath.
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But.. but… it’s not a Social Security cut. It’s a “sensible reform” that actually makes the system more progressive. So says Peter Orzag.
It’s awesome how Democrats are:
a) Pushing conservative Republican proposals
b) becoming less popular
c) losing losing elections
It’s like we jumped in a time machine back to 2003.
What friggin planet does he live on and were the retards?
Why? Float the idea of increasing the eligibility age and reducing payments. Then what?
This political theater is getting funnier & funnier.
It’s almost if destroying the Democratic party, or at least chasing the liberals and DFH’s out of the party, was the actual goal.
…
Republicans are masters of messaging to their likely constituents. Though they lie, they know how to do so convincingly.
Democrats just bleat. And bash hippies.
Certainly looks that way to me. What’s that saying? If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck….
Go figure. Seems like it’s all about not giving citizens any choice anymore… it’s between facist & facist-lite or something along those lines… and no, don’t ask me who’s “facist-lite” because I can’t figure it out.
A few of us have hypothesized that might have been the plan.
The silly petition about the catfood commission will do nothing because it doesn’t threaten to punish the catfood commission’s friends. Mine does.
OK, here’s what you do about the catfood commission. Simpson lives in Wyoming and Bowles lives in North Carolina.
Call, email, write to the Chamber of commerce in both Wyoming and North Carolina. Tell the person in charge you refuse to travel to their state or to buy any product or service that comes from their state until Simpson and Bowles gets rid of all social security cuts except for the removal of the cap on income from Social Security in the catfood commission report and then disbands the catfood commission.
We the people of the United States of America form this Liberal Democratic Party of the United States of America for the promotion of a progressive agenda for America.
We generally support the progressive and liberal candidates that run in the regular Democratic party. We do not run candidates. We do not handle money. Our power comes from the unionization of our party members who tell GOP contributors and other regressive contributors that UNTIL you get the House and Senate and the President to enact our party platform at the present point into law YOU will lose our business as consumers. By doing this we avoid petitioning a corporate corrupted congress and go to the source of corruption and pressure them for the legislation under threat of massive boycotts.
Party members will send the party agenda by email to these GOP and regressive contributors and get new people to join us.
Imagine it and it will happen.
The Republican party appears weak and vulnerable at the cash registers of those companies that give money to them.
To join us go here http://www.democratz.org and send some emails and get others to go there. If you like this message then Join us.
This is a replay of DeMint’s “Stop the Raid” campaign:
http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=RetirementSecurity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMaZkNUW1Ww
This is part of a comment I left over at David’s diary about home foreclosures, it seems to fit here as well!
The MOTU’s have their ‘perfected’ class warfare, and the politicians are gourging themselves on the ‘killing’of the working class, while the masters sit back in utter glee while they perversely masturbate to the agony they have created.
Meanwhile ObamaAss is in complete animation and intellectual orgasm, as the masters yank on his marionette strings to make sure the CatFood Commish puts another blood dripping nail into the writhing and dying corpse of Amerika, uttering in the last final acts of pure terrorism on it’s own citizentry, until the death camps are completed and stocked with gulag guards that will drive the last vestige of the Amerikan experiment into the squalid dustbin of history.
Simply…they (being the elite, MOTU, politician and corporate class of demons)…
DON”T GIVE A FUCK!
Conversations about using politics or any other useless scheme of persuasion is an utter waste of time that could be bettered employed to find alternative ways to protect your family, loved ones, and significant others while you still can.
…and eCAHNomics I know your comment is really a super snark, but this shit ain’t funny…what is being done these days is extremely perverse and mind numbing sad!
Who could have predicted…
J DeMint make a good point that SS trust funds should be segregated from General funds and just used as a slush fund to give the rich tax breaks.
I wonder how long he’ll keep up that message?
What to do with these funds? Form an infrastructure bank? For this we need a serious proposal.
And J DeMint is probably an expert in segregation.
I fully believe that certainly the latter at least is the case. I believe however that they are convinced that chasing the liberals and hippies away will save their party but you know, they can have it. I’m done with them. Just as soon as they vote to keep rich people tax cuts in place, (and they will), the back of that particular camel will be irrevocably broken.
Is this the one grain of sand at a time analogy? Deconstruction of entitlements. As an American citizen I’m not entitled to anything? Then why live here?
This article seems to be a misreading of DeMint’s actual comments on the Fox News Sunday show. What he seems to be saying, is that it makes no sense to be talking about cutting Social Security as a means to balance the budget when the government has, in the last 4 years, run up $5 trillion in new debt on spending unrelated to Social Security. Instead, he seems to be arguing, why not look at that new spending first for cuts? Seems to me that’s a fairly sensible position to take, whether or not you agree with his plan to reform Social Security.
Spending has not increased much, income from taxes is way down causing the high deficits. Once employmnet recovers, the short term deficit will right itself.
“There are other things that they did not consider, like repealing “Obamacare” and taking back money that — from — you know, privatizing Fannie Mae, privatizing General Motors. All of these things need to be on the table before we start cutting programs like Social Security that people have paid for.”
Its unbeliveable how bad the Democrats have been under obama. Staggering. So the Republicans will use social security as a fulcrum (i almost cant believe i said that )to unhinge everything obama has done. not that that would be a disaster or anything, he hasnt really done anything except for obamacare, and that probably should be repealed anyway. BTW the model for obama care, romneycare still has the the highest health care costs in the country
http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/10/massachusetts-health-program-a-model-for-obamas-national-reform-strains-state-budget/
i return for which all they can point to are increases in coverage….of insurance that most people cant afford to use. way to cut out the middleman obama care, the patient!
It truly makes my head spin, round the bend, as they say, to think about the Repubs being the party of Social Security…what a stretch. Say it isn’t so.
No, spending has increased by about $1 trillion over the past 4 years. To put that in perspective, the previous $1 trillion in spending growth was achieved over the course of about 16 years. It is true that revenue has decreased, but spending has also increased out of proportion compared to previous years.
Ha ha, I love it, the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt will be played this evening by Jim freakin’ Demint. What he’s proposing actually makes sense. Per Dean Baker, Social Security ran a $80 billion surplus this year (taxes were less than benefit payouts, but the SS trust funds also collect interest from Tsy for the bonds they hold).
If instead of going to General Revenue the surplus SS revenue was put into individual investment accounts (ideally via the low cost federal employeee system but a Vanguard index fund wouldn’t cost that much more), it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, in fact, Baker proposed something similar a few yars ago.
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/universal-voluntary-accounts-a-step-towards-fixing-the-retirement-system/
It is easy to stop the political slush fund aspect of Social Security the Demint objects to – just allow the system to invest surplus payroll tax in real assets instead of Gov Bonds. No individual accounts – just a change in how we invest the fund – and Wall Street gets some fees which the GOP always likes.
Seems like a win-win.
But I expect the GOP to push its own destruction of SS plan to complete with the catfood commission attempt to redo SS as a welfare payment that is means tested. With Obama as president, I suspect there is room for “compromise” between Obama and DeMint.
DeMint has no interest in compromising with Obama, it has to be something that he can force on the White House or his base will accuse him of giving away the store. The WH hasn’t figured out that anything they endorse is the kiss of death for any Republican to support.
That DeMint has stones, I’ll give him that. A pit he doesn’t understand Modern Monetary Theory. :o)
http://pragcap.com/mmt-101
shiny object ….. shiny object …. can just barely see it out of the corner of my eye…
the r’s did a pretty good job of scaring the old folks over medicare, and it paid off at the ballot box. so now they’re talking about saving social security – from the democrats – but what are they really planning on eviscerating while we’re distracted?
gutting obamacare won’t fill their masters’ pockets. cutting defense spending would also fail. perhaps they can convince the fainting democrats that eliminating the dept of education and the EPA could save social security. also good for koch industries.
the sad truth is, the d’s will probably fall for it, paving the way for president palin in 2013. who will then hand social security over to wall st for perks and bonuses.
at which point, the d’s will have successfully purged the party of of DFHs. we’ll all be moving to canada.
step 4: PROFIT!
Just saw that we both proposed the same thing !
Great minds etc etc.
By the way nice link and explanation. The magic of the Fed window on bank created money, and asset value if over building occurs, is perhaps a bit too much to talk about and besides the explanation is spot on correct as is. I wonder how the Fed will drain the system so as to have a smooth transition when inflation finally hits. Inflation currently is not happening only because on that money creation in going nowhere as it sits in reserves and few loans are made.
EU is starting to believe the bank bad asset problem could take down the rest of the countries, and they finally realize that austerity in Ireland is causing the Keynsian contraction making the financials not respond as desired. This problem should have cleared up via a $2 trillion stimulus in the US – instead timid Obama ran to a less than 800 billion bill, with 1/3rd of that 800 billion being near useless tax cuts.
The Dems will have earned every bit of what’s coming if they don’t get rid of Obama ASAP.
Social Security and the Deficit Commission Myths and Realities
http://www.seolawfirm.com/2010/09/social-security-and-the-deficit-commission-myths-and-realities/
Strengthening Social Security for the Long Run
http://www.nasi.org/research/2010/strengthening-social-security-long-run