I am trying very hard to be calm, and it’s not exactly working. DOGE is getting its hands into Social Security. There’s talk of making it privatized. How in the hell can you take something that people have paid into for years of their life (like me) to take it privatized?
Damn, y’all, this just keep getting worse every day. How do they think people are going to *live* without Social Security? Or Disability? I don’t like the idea of being homeless and I’m sure everyone else doesn’t either. SS is pretty much all I have for the bills in our house! We cannot get kicked out of our apartment!
On Tuesday, Trump’s SOTU, such as it was, and with the full backing of his billionaires (of course), he formally announced the destruction of our Social Security. They’ve already laid off 7,000 employees. As many as HALF of the personnel are on the chopping block, to the tune of about 30,000 people. THIRTY THOUSAND. Dammmmmmn!
Republicans and the rich hate Social Security. They call it everything from communism to a Ponzi scheme. Come ON now people, REALLY? That’s just tacky and self-righteous. It’s been a really effective way to keep people out of poverty. It’s been emulated by virtually every democracy in the free world. You see, it proves that government can actually work for people and society.
It then provides credibility for other government programs, which billionaires hate. For example, we have regulating pollution and breaking up monopolies. This does not put money in the pockets of the billionaires because they are regulated by the government. So now we are looking at them trying to convince us that government is stupid, clumsy, and essentially evil. “Ronald Reagan began that process when he claimed that government was not the solution to our problems but was, in fact, the cause of our problems.” It was a lie then and is a lie now, but the billionaire-owned media loved it and it’s been repeated hundreds of millions of times.
Billionaires also know that for Social Security to survive and prosper, morbidly rich people will eventually have to pay the same percentage of their income into it as bus drivers, carpenters, and people who work at McDonald’s. The problem is that this is the last thing that billionaires want. They are going to try and privatize SS, just like the Medicare Advantage program. So, this puts more money in *their* pockets and less in ours. This is ridiculous! They should pay into SS on ALL of their money, not just part. That would solve a helluva lot of problems and may even be able to give the people on it a bit of a raise.
How in the HELL do we fight back against this bullsht? Call your reps, people, either Republican or Democrat. Make it clear you’re tired of billionaires calling the shots. All of us EARNED the right to have Social Security. We need to keep it and not start another “advantage” program that we won’t be able to afford. We have to scream, and scream loudly, against bought-off politicians in Congress. We need to get Democrats off their butts and start fighting back. Everyone deserves the peace of mind by having those checks deposited into their bank accounts, or checks in the mail, to be able to use.
I am tired of Democrats waffling around and not DOING something. There are plenty of things they could do. Wake up, folks. We need you!!!
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There is a word to describe people who elect a bunch of billionaires into power to change the system that made them billionaires.
Stupid.
Agreed! It’s all about the power.
“I am tired of Democrats waffling around and not DOING something. There are plenty of things they could do. Wake up, folks. We need you!!!”
Susan, I feel for you. I truly do. But you know what *I* am tired of? People who accuse the Democrats of “waffling around and not DOING something” and then claiming that there are “plenty of things” they could do WITHOUT offering even ONE suggestion.
You DO understand that, as the MINORITY PARTY in both Houses of Congress, there is LITTLE that the Democrats can do to ADVANCE any kind of legislation without getting GOP help. There are currently only 214 Democrats in the House and 218 GOPers. (There are currently 3 vacancies: 2 GOP seats with a special election to be held on April 1, and 1 Democratic seat following the recent death of Texas Representative Sylvester Turner–that special election hasn’t been set yet.) So, even if the Democrats presented the “Save Social Security from Thieving Billionaires Act” tomorrow, it would still take 3 GOPers to sign on to get the bill to a Floor vote; the Speaker of the House is the one who determines whether a Bill can make it to a Floor vote–and the Speaker is a GOPer. And, in the Senate, you’re looking at a similar situation: There are currently only 45 Democrats and 2 Independents (who usually caucus with the Dems) compared to 53 GOPers. If all 47 Dem/Indie Senators presented the Senate’s version of the “Save Social Security from Thieving Billionaires Act,” they would need FOUR GOPers to help get the bill to a Floor vote. The Senate’s Majority Leader can also keep bills from reaching a Floor vote (and, again, the Majority Leader is a GOPer).
So, please, enlighten us as to ANY of those “plenty of things” the Democrats could do. Just one. One simple “thing” that the Dems could do.
Realistically, the ONLY thing the Dems could do is to filibuster any changes to Social Security but even that is not an absolute prospect. It only applies to the Senate, for starters, and it will depend ENTIRELY on what rules were established for the Senate’s current session regarding the filibuster. (There have been years when the Senate chose to remove the filibuster when it came to judicial nominations–but, remember, when Scalia croaked nearly 10 months before the 2016 election, McConnell refused to allow Obama’s nomination to be brought before the Senate. It didn’t matter that there were 44 Dems and 2 Indies who wanted Garland to have a hearing, McConnell refused to allow the nomination to be brought before the Senate because there were 54 GOPers and they were in control of the Senate. The Dems couldn’t really filibuster the issue because they wanted the hearings and you can’t filibuster in support of legislation or action; you can only filibuster to delay or outright opposed legislation or action. The Dems might could’ve filibustered some other business in a tit-for-tat manner–allow the nomination to be brought and this other legislation can go forward–but, at the same time, they would’ve risked being tagged as “obstructionists” and only the GOP can get away with that.)
I fear what they’ll try to do is to turn SS into a real ponzi scheme by handing it over to Wall Street to manage. Wasnt that the retirement plan we had in the 1920s? Yeah that turned out sooo well!
Wow, thank you for the additional talking point! Ponzi scheme, ouch!
Okay, you got me. I had thought Democrats could at least make their voices heard – through speaking up in Congress, and going to the news, to *show* what the Republicans are doing, isn’t standing by. I realize they are outnumbered in Congress. I realize they are hamstrung in terms of fighting back. But talking is free. I thought that they could support their people in the midterms starting *now*. We need to think about that very soon because we really don’t have much time left, relatively speaking. I want to see or hear support for the Dems that have their terms ending next year. I am doing my part for our friends here. They won their run-offs so we need to support them and get them back in. If tRump started his campaign a year early, surely we can start now for midterms. Words are free, too. That’s why I write. Change takes awhile to get started. I hope you enjoyed picking my piece apart.