Social Security Works

More than 60 organizations that represent more than 30 million Americans are banding together to deliver a straightforward message to politicians this fall: Don't mess with Social Security. more »

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There's a battle going on between those who are defending Social Security - that is to say, the "good guys" - and those like economist Alice Rivlin and Wall Street banker/giveaway king Neel Kashkari, who would cut it. The attackers pretend to see nuances that don't exist, slanting their arguments to make benefits reductions seem inevitable and even humane. True to form, Rivlin frightens Americans with the idea that we need to "save" Social Security, then proposes to "reassure" them ... by cutting it. more »

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Yesterday I co-hosted The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur. Our first interview was with Howard Dean, in a wide-ranging conversation that covered his continued enthusiasm for Barack Obama (but not some of his advisors), Democratic malaise, and the race-baiting he has observed at Fox News.

At 7 minutes and 50 seconds I tried to draw him out about Social Security and the Deficit Commission. more »

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We have a deficit because we cut taxes for the rich, increased military spending, started two decade-long wars and handed tons of money to Wall Street. The Washington elite crowd says therefore, to fix a deficit caused by cutting taxes for the rich and sending military spending up into the stratosphere we have to ... cut Social Security? more »

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This week's big story is that a faker scammed the media, trashing an innocent USDA employee's career in order to push a false right-wing narrative. But another scam's underway too, and it's targeting Social Security and other entitlement programs. As Republicans (and at least one Democrat) pushed budget-busting tax cuts, the "bipartisan" leaders of the Deficit Commission showed their true colors as extremists who peddle panic and hold "hearings" despite having their minds already made up. One of them said that the Federal debt is a "cancer," adding that you "can't tax your way out of it" - and that was the Democrat! Meanwhile the Republican complained that November's elections will be "disruptive," creating "wreckage" that will interfere with their plans.

When you think about it, Shirley Sherrod and the the Social Security system have a lot more in common than their initials. more »

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In the deficit hysteria now sweeping Washington, Social Security has emerged in the bull's-eye as a target for cuts. Perpetually tanned Republican House Minority leader John Boehner, called for hiking the retirement age to 70. more »

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McClatchy news story, No full Social Security benefits until age 70?

Young Americans might not get full Social Security retirement benefits until they reach age 70 if some trial balloons that prominent lawmakers of both parties are floating become law.

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Democrats won the news cycle yesterday when they slammed John Boehner for calling the economic crisis an "ant." But winning a news cycle isn't the same as winning an election. A new poll shows that the President and his party risk political suicide if they join in the mad rush to cut Social Security, and a sleight-of-hand move by the House leadership today suggests they're considering it. more »

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Archon Fung recently wrote a piece in the Huffington Post entitled "The Left Should Learn to Trust Americans," which mocked Dean Baker and me for criticizing AmericaSpeaks and the "national town meeting on the deficit." We both felt the presentation was skewed toward creating a right-wing set of recommendations, while Professor Fung claimed the attendees' progressive conclusions meant that we had been alarmist - and didn't trust the intrinsic wisdom of the American people (a mischaracterization he quickly expanded to include the entire "Left").

That's like making fun of the Fire Department after the fire's been put out. more »

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Peace activists and progressives are the only people that I've heard connect war spending in Afghanistan and Pakistan with our financial security at home - until now, that is. more »

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