Rep. John Lewis quickly came out in opposition against President Obama’s latest fiscal cliff proposal which included a cut to Social Security.
“After seniors suffered through two years during some of the roughest economic times in recent American history without seeing a Cost of Living Increase, there are some suggesting a significant change to the formula used to calculate cost of living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries. An obscure term is being used to refer to this cut—“the chained Consumer Price Index or chained CPI”.
What it means is that all current and future retirees receiving Social Security, including veterans and the disabled, would see a dramatic cut to their current and future benefits, and the cuts would compound over time. So for example, if the average Social Security beneficiary receives about $14000 yearly, then this cut to the COLA would represent a $653 loss by the time a retiree is age 75, a $1139 cut by age 85, and a $1611 cut by age 95, according to the Social Security Administration’s figures released in September of this year. Rep. John Lewis was deeply disturbed by this proposal.
“The people of this nation are depending upon us to be true to our word,” said Rep. John Lewis. “I don’t know how many members ran on a promise not to cut Social Security. Now, without any hard proposal to raise taxes on the rich, some are using Social Security as a carrot to get a deal. We cannot, and we must not play with the lives of senior citizens. People work hard in America, and they deserve to retire with dignity. The reward of their hard work should not be a significant reduction in resources the longer they live and the more vulnerable they become. Something is wrong with this equation.
“Social Security is solvent. It is insurance citizens have paid into in good faith. They have honored their commitment, and the federal government should honor its commitment. We should not tolerate cuts to Social Security. It is a sacred trust that should not be violated, not a piggybank used to fix fiscal problems.
“Democrats have made concessions in these negotiations. We created $492 billion in Medicare savings, and in prior negotiations around the nation’s fiscal problems we offered another $300 billion in cuts. We have done our part. Why can’t Republicans do theirs? Why can’t they simply put tax increases on the table that they would vote for, instead of requiring us to cut the sick, the veterans, the seniors, and the orphans until it hurts. This is not right. It is not fair or just negotiation. We should not offer more concessions. We should demand solutions in light of the concessions we have already made.”
Rep. John Lewis is right on point.Our Social Security is Solvent.Our Seniors have worked hard all of their lives,and have contributed relentlessly into The Social Security Fund…Social Security is off the table…Done Deal…Some of our elected official’s salary should be slashed,considering the representation that some of our constituents are receiving…That should be up for discussion in the coming New Year.
Government Economic Policy itself is the source of the problem. By depressing the incentives for business to hire new workers and invest in Capital and New Technologies…Too much policy activism and other policy shortcomings that have held back economic growth from increased Regulation to Ineffective Programs that have driven up the public debt…They are the result of enactment of Poor Economic Policies and the Failure to Implement Good Ones…Alan Greenspan says”to Stem Economic Growth a first priority should be to End The Short Run Temporary Stimulus Packages and Start Reducing The Deficit Immediately…This would reduce the amount of Crowding out of Investment and start to Raise Economic Growth…Alan Greenspan devotes attention to recent economic development in Europe,arguing that Poor Economic Policy in Greece and other Countries that are now in crisis is the Likely Source of the Economic problems currently facing Europe.
How policies should change to restore strong trend economic growth…A restoration of Robust economic growth in America is essential for continued Prosperity Throughout The World…Alan Greenspan says.”In particular,he points out that Labor Cost in Greece are well above those in Germany and many other Countries in The Eurozone, he shows that Wage Inflation has been Higher in Greece than most of the Rest of Europe both before and after Greece joined The Eurozone…One example could be a factor causing The Recent Slow Growth…By developing a New Quantitative Index of Policy uncertainty,which combines several measures…For example,one of their measures is the Number of Provisions in The Tax Code which Expire each Year…Indeed,this type of Temporary Tax Change is Making The Entire Tax System Unpredictable,and this Provides a good measure of Policy Uncertainty…According to The U.S.Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation.[84] Tax Provisions’expired in[2011],about the same number as in[2009 and in 2010]….This is Ten Times greater than the Number of Provisions that Expired in[1999].
What Economic Crisis? There is no crisis. If you Collect our Tax Dollars,the people must Benefit.You Cannot Continue To Have Tea in My House While I Have Nothing.