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Sen. Bernie Sanders: "The White House deficit commission is reportedly considering deep benefit cuts for Social Security, including a steep rise in the retirement age. We cannot let that happen."

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is interviewed by a reporter at Sanders' office in Burlington, Vermont, 11/28/06. (photo: Reuters)

Comments

+7 # Guest 2010-09-01 08:48

I understood that much of the "cushion" that Social Security enjoys and has enjoyed has been pilfered by the government to reduce its own debt. Is this true?

+3 # Guest 2010-09-02 09:03

Well, the Bush admin."borrowed" from the Social Security trust fund, as they did from China, to pay for the Iraq war. But the Fed.can always print money if need be to repay domestic obligations. Or we can stop subsidizing war profiteers.

0 # Guest 2010-09-22 18:16

Every Congress since the Social Security Trust Fund was created in the early 90's, has borrowed from Fund and left worthless IOU's in the vacuum to the tune of several Trillion Dollars and yet not one penny has ever been repaid.. Hence the reason why Congress now is trying to paint SSA as insolvent with some even attempting to portray the people on it as long term welfare recipients.. Last thing congress wants is to repay what they borrowed because that would leave NO Money what so ever for them to pay for many other things, Pork, etc, for many years.

+13 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:17

I agree with this 100%,

+20 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:19

Thank you, Bernie.

Is there any way to mobilize other members of Congress to find their consciences and write legislation to tax that upper layer who now pay nothing into Social Security? If you of their family members becomes disabled, I'd bet they would be the first to get that family member approved (ahead of the normally long wait) for SSI benefits.

It is extremely important to counter the flying rumors that the Social Security System is broke and will stop paying benefits.

And you are absolutely right: Many, many people physically could not go on working to 70 years of age. They should not be penalized with a lower monthly pension for their years of hard work.

Sincerely,
Eloise Linger, Ph.D.

0 # Guest 2010-09-09 06:12

Your comment about upper layer that pay nothing into social security. I do not understand this comment as they pay ss on their forst $106,800 of income and unlimited income for medicare.Perhaps you are talking about investment income could this be true? I am retired without a defined pension and have to live on my investments and no way should I pay ss on this income as it is equivalent to a pension which also does not pay ss. However there is one huge problem and that is carried interest for private equity/hedge funds which are classified as capital gains and taxed at only 15% THis is totally wrong and should be taxed as ordinary income and ss paid on it. Please explain your comment. Thanks, Don Gonsalves DJGonsa@aol.com

+21 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:21

We spend 800 Billion dollars per year on our national "defense". Why can't we survive with half of that budget for our military? Why is there no one out there advocating for this? There is so much waste in the military and no one seems to care. They LOST 22 billion dollars in Iraq. It was never used, it just got up and walked away and no one has any idea where it is. This is truly insane and the fact that they are going after our retirement fund rather than our wasteful military proves that we are a true military dictatorship with no one to turn to.

+9 # Guest 2010-09-01 12:30

Exactly, Jamie, you are absolutely right. Here is the real issue with many conservatives. On the one hand, they advocate cutting welfare and nanny state (which is a good idea). Yet, on the other hand, as soon as you mention cutting bureaucracy and wasteful spending in the Department of Defence, you hear a voice: "How dare you?" Defence is like some sacred cow (I call it a form of Republican political correctness - by analogy with Democratic "sacred cows" such as affirmative action ect) What the hell hundreds of thousands of American troops are doing in Europe and Japan? The Cold War is over, and they are still there. It is a pure and blatant waste of US resources. By simply removing these troops and facilities only from these two areas, you will be able to save billions and billions. On both sides of political spectrum politicians are afraid of being blamed in anti-patriotic behavior. And in the meantime, military-industrial complex is happily marching on.

+1 # Guest 2010-09-03 20:23

Good grief. You are seeing the light Jamie Folk. The corporate military congressional industrial complex has turned us over to the military and we exist for their benefit rather than they existing for ours. That is a certain kind of tyranny and given the chance, they will take everything. Becoming pauperized is becoming an obligation, and for what? To defend our so called freedom? Are we so disconnected that we can't tell that our government of, by and for the people died fairly recently and that life as we have known is coming to an end?

As Nader mentioned, and I paraphrase only, it isn't that the wealthy want most of the money, most of the power and most of the control. They want ALL of it. How true this seems to be.

+24 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:22

One more program both republicans and libertarians are whining about. No mention of the amount of money spent on the military - and the budget projected for 2011 is 60% military.

Let's consider the number of programs directed at maintaining a healthy citizenship being threatened by those with ulterior motives and begin the push back and push against military spending.

+14 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:28

Thank you Mr. Sanders, you are the best!

+14 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:50

Let's see Social Security into the future. Education and intelligence needed - Americans have become so uneducated they will accept anything a demagogue throws out. The demagogues are often misinformed too.

+4 # Guest 2010-09-02 07:01

Nori, You are too kind almost to a fault. The demagogues are not misinformed. The demagogues are guilty of subterfuge. They are engaging in distortions. Fabrication of reality is the order of the day. Hyperbole is front and center. Inaccuracy and myth are doing a pirouette together in the shadowy recesses of what passes for critical and objective thinking in far too many Americans. Too put it bluntly, succinctly, plainly so as too make it easier for the "real folks" to understand, the demagogues are LYING! Why disguise it as anything other than what it is? And,sadly, as the polls indicate, if their not lying, it works. Orwell wrote " in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." And the biggest joke is, the tea baggers think "they're" a revolution.

+18 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:52

I've said it before, and I'm gonna say it again, there is something fundamentally flawed with a system that penalizes the beneficiaries of said system when the facilitators of the system have failed to keep the system solvent. It is not our fault that the Legislative branch of U.S. government fails time after time to keep a balanced budget, yet its us who end up paying out the butt for their failures!! I paid all my working life for my Social Security Disability Insurance, like others pay for life insurance, there is no difference. But I am expected to sit back and just accept someone stealing from me? It's my damn money, not the governments. It is not welfare, it's called insurance benefits being paid to a qualified, disabled beneficiary. The only way we can stop this insane and unfair action from happening is by speaking up and just saying "NO"!!!

+21 # Guest 2010-09-01 10:04

HANDS OFF OUR SOCIAL SECURITY,

worked hard and still do, now I need
to get by.

+16 # Guest 2010-09-01 10:09

I love you Bernie. We need more senators like you.

+2 # Guest 2010-09-01 10:12

So, who is right?

Ron Paul says Social Security is going broke, and Benrie Sanders says we have a surplus till 2039.

Will somebody step forward and clear this up, and how do we know s/he is correct. This is VERY confusing and worrisome to us seniors.

+10 # Guest 2010-09-01 11:00

It is only "going broke" in the sense that Senator Sanders explains it...there won't be an actual problem until 2039 provided current trends continue.

In the next twenty years, intake from social security taxes will not cover the benefits required to be paid out due to a larger portion of the population collecting benefits. In order to prevent this shortfall, the debate is over whether or not to curtail benefits (which Republicans want) or to raise payroll taxes for the more affluent (what Democrats want to do). The system isn't "broken," it will just be altered by changing demographics.

Privatization is an absolute no-go if you are at all concerned about the actual "security" of social security. The GOP would love to hand more money over to Wall Street, but it wouldn't help the average American much.

How do I know this? I went to school and read a lot. Rand Paul only thinks he knows what he is talking about.

+3 # Guest 2010-09-01 16:27

Mik, That was very well explained I am sure people can understand you. It was clear, concise, and correct. I read too and I agree.

+9 # Guest 2010-09-01 11:07

Bernie is correct. Just check out the sources that he used. Remember Ron Paul doesn't want any government. I wonder why he wants to be part of it!

+4 # Guest 2010-09-01 16:38

Because he wants to dismantle it from the inside James, as the Greeks did with the Trojan horse.

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 11:32

Please read the article above for your answers. Instead of asking other people what's accurate, do the research yourself online. Prove to yourself that bernie sanders is not only telling the truth but it's accurate. Try google and type in key word that you see in the article.

Sorry, but Ron Paul is totally wrong is on this one.

0 # Guest 2010-09-04 17:25

Simply stated, Ron Paul is lying. Bernie Sanders is telling the truth.

+10 # Guest 2010-09-01 10:46

Deficit Hawks - Keep your thieving hands off the Social Security Trust Fund.

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 11:36

Bernie, Thanks for who you are and all you do! Very enlightening article. We need more of these.

+12 # Guest 2010-09-01 11:39

The real reason the rich, Wall Street, and the Republican Party are pushing for social security privatization is substantial stock market appreciation.

Just 1% of the population owns 42% of financial assets and the top 20% own a substantial 92%. With privatization, 56 million social security contributors could invest up to a trillion dollars into the market each year.

The US stock market is currently valued at around $14 trillion and could appreciate 5% to 10% annually just from these contributions. The rich would profit the most since their investments start at a much higher level and Wall Street would make $billions from fees and their own trading.

Privatization is a get even richer scheme for the greediest of us.

+8 # Guest 2010-09-01 15:24

I would like to add, it is too risky for the average person to put social security contributions in the same basket with their personal investments, IRAs, 401(k) and their company’s pension funds (if they have them!). It defies the basic principal of investment DIVERSIFICATION . Social security funds should not be put into the stock or even the bond markets.

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 12:06

Well-said and true. Another source for information about Social Security is socialsecurityw orks.org. Dr. Eric Kingson of Syracuse University is one of the co-directors. Believe you will find this source very useful.

I loved the comment about Ron Paul and wanting to be part of a government he doesn't believe in.

Bravo!

-12 # Guest 2010-09-01 12:11

don`t need no stinkin gov man taking my money and making promises he has no intention of keeping....I can do it myself., step aside gov man

+9 # bobpomeroy 2010-09-01 12:14

Yup, the wingnuts have the gall to propose propping up the stock market with SSI funds. We should be taxing stock market transactions the same way sales taxes do for almost every other commodity, and the $106,800.00 'lid' should be removed and replaced with a progressive tax on income above that figure. Didn't the common tax payer just bail out Wall St.? Now it should be their turn, yet they so easily cloud the issue by turning the solution upside down in favor of plutocracy.

-4 # pappyg 2010-09-01 12:19

Today, all of us can look each other square in the eye and say, 'We kept our promises.' That was President Ronald Wilson Reagan's statement at the signing of SS reform legislation in April of 1983.

Never in the history of mankind has there been a more expensive look and promise, couched in more deceit and deception. Hatched at an Irish pub, over a beer, the poster child for conservatism, and his liberal counterpart Tip O’Neil, developed the blueprint for a now 3 decade long assault on middle class working Americans, their families, and the communities they call home.

To date, the save SS plan has turned 2.5 trillion dollars of potential SS trust fund assets into 2.5 trillion dollars of IOU debt; a 5 trillion dollar net turnaround. They had the beer, and we have the hangover, and Bernie Sander's (BS) says keep you hands off; My God Bernie, a little late aren't you??

It’s time for a real comprehensive, community based solution. www.socialsecuritysolution.org

+2 # Guest 2010-09-01 19:25

Another liar.

Once again, to be very clear, here are the facts: 1) Social Security is a Trust Fund. 2) By law it cannot borrow money, therefore it incurs no IOUs.

-1 # Guest 2010-09-04 17:28

You do not have a clue as to what you are talking about. If you knew half as much as you think you know about Social Security, you would know to the 10th power what you actually know about this.

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 13:02

Bravo to Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In these days of Lies and Half Truths we need more of these editorials that tie the lies and half truths to the people who are spreading this FEAR.

We need legislators who will stand up in a storm and fight back with the ultimate truth. As an American Citizen I can understand that not all is well in the economy and the lives of the Working Class. I do understand that the days of giving to the VERY RICH and waiting for Ronald Regan's and Jack Kemp's TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS TO WORK are long gone from the days of the 1980's when the republicans claimed that jobs were created by the wealthy so, we should give all the money to the wealthy and we will benefit from the "TRICKLE DOWN" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 13:45

C'mon people; Rand Paul is not wrong. Rand Paul is flat out lying!

+5 # Guest 2010-09-01 15:32

The social security problem is as simple as Sen. Sanders tells us. Raise the income lid to cover everyone not just those making up to 106,000. Problem solved. PERIOD! "Entitlement" bashers know this and ignore or denounce the idea as, oh no!, another tax. Speaking of entitlement crusaders, did everyone notice who was first in line for Federal health care subsidies? Half of the nation's Fortune 500 companies that's who. Just another indication of why they want to kill social security. They want it ALL! To all those anti-gov, tea bagging, gun toting, constitution (the parts that fit) spewing, flag draped, god fearing, "real people" out there, a word of warning. Pray you and your loved ones stay well and gainfully employed because if you do indeed fall upon hard times, your tea slopping friends, both in and out of politics, may "misunderstand" the meaning of your new found miseries and not invite you over to watch Nascar or listen to another stirring sermon by Franklin Graham.

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 16:01

Military spending,the health care industry and the financial sector are the only thriving businesses in the US and they just funnel more money into the pockets of the supper rich. There is no money left for the other 98% and the super rich don't give a damn.

+6 # Guest 2010-09-01 17:46

Keep it simple - REMOVE THE CAP! Let the rich pay their fair share.

+5 # Guest 2010-09-01 19:02

I am 75 years old. I've paid into social security since I was 15 years old. It is not a hand out. I've have earned it and I want you to keep your hands off of it.

+2 # Guest 2010-09-02 06:06

I am amazed at how stupid our government is. Their are SSI COL increases most years based on infation. Yet the $106.8K cap has not been adjusted since 1983. Why has the pay cap not been linked to inflation from the beginning. I will say to you, Senator what I have said to my own reepresentaves. GOYA! Fix the problem. And also get rid of the 60 vote rule. That is nothing more than an excuse to avoid doing your jobs.

0 # Guest 2010-09-02 11:39

The cap has not been the same since 1983. It in fact has increased each year until last year.

0 # Guest 2010-09-04 17:31

The cap is adjusted every year for inflation, and has been since 1983 when the law was changed to provide for annual adjustments. The cap was not raised last year because inflation effectively was zero. In fact, there many have been some deflation. This year, the inflation rate is running at a little over 1%, and that should be reflected in an increase in the cap next year of a little over $1,000.

+4 # Guest 2010-09-02 06:42

I have the greatest respect for Bernie Sanders and I would consider his facts and statements to be correct. Increasing the retirement age to 70, is a very poor option. The very rich should have to contribute at the higher rate, as Senator Sanders
has proposed.

+2 # Guest 2010-09-02 12:01

The Gray Panthers (www.graypanthers.org), founded 40 years ago by the outrageous Maggie Kuhn, totally supports Social Security "as we know and appreciate it", along with environmental justice, and Single Payer Universal Medicare for All. Senator Sanders speaks the truth and we need to be sure that our legislators heed his good advice!

+2 # Guest 2010-09-02 14:46

President Obama has reliably caved in to right wing pressure at every turn - sometimes before the pressure was even turned on (e.g. whatever happened to single payer or the public option). If he decides to use social security as another example of giving in to the very people who won't be happy unless he's dead anyway, then he deserves what he gets in 2012. I still plan to vote for him against whatever pile of steaming dung the repugnican party can parade before us like a wind-up toy. However, if he treats social security as another way to appease the right I'll just stay home and watch tv.

Who knows, maybe after this November, he'll start paying attention to the people who got him elected. I have no reason to believe he will, but who knows.

+3 # Charles Bowman 2010-09-02 17:32

The problem is not that Social Security is broke as Bernie reminds us, but that our nation is bankrupt from fighting too many wars. We are paying the Bush taxes now, and they are onerous! Until now the insatiable demand for more funds for the military has always been heard, but now that cacophony has become ludicrous. It wants to sap the very security of millions of our people to make them secure? History teaches us that militaries which sapped the lifeblood of the nation in their grand pursuits soon fell victim to the wrath of their own people. How laughable it is to see Reagan set up Saddam and Bush tear him down, and at what cost? It is as funny as the cat chasing its own tale! The cost of wars has bankrupted this nation. The military is broke, not social security. We will not even consider starving our babies and our seniors so that we can pretend to rule the world and make billionaires bilious.

0 # Guest 2010-09-07 01:02

Don't the rich collect Social Security when they retire? Why is there a cap on earnings when it comes to collecting Social Security taxes? The middle class is funding Social Security and the rich are reaping the benefits.
If SS tax was collected on income over $250,000.....Problem Solved!

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