Today I posted a quickie which included these words from kos:
You see, Republicans want to destroy Social Security, and Democrats want to ... destroy it a little less? God, I hope not. But that's the Obama people got last week.
Now the
campaign website has 'clarified' the President's position, still talking about how much he and Romney agree FTW !!!!! (Hat Tip to
Common Dreams)
The President knows that guaranteed Social Security benefits are not handouts, but a bedrock of the commitment to retirement security America makes to our seniors. He believes that no current beneficiaries should see their basic benefits reduced, and he will not accept any approach that slashes benefits for future generations. President Obama stands firmly opposed to privatizing Social Security—the future security of hard-working Americans should not be dependent on the fluctuations of the stock market. That is why the President has called on Congress to develop a bipartisan planthat follows these principles:
Any reform should strengthen Social Security for future generations and restore long-term solvency.
The administration will oppose any measures that privatize or weaken the Social Security system.
While all measures to strengthen solvency should be on the table, the administration will not accept an approach that slashes benefits for future generations.
No current beneficiaries should see their basic benefits reduced.
Reforms should strengthen retirement security for the most vulnerable, including low-income seniors.
Reform should maintain robust disability and survivors’ benefits.
No
"slashing."
No "slashes."
Oh nice. No slashing might just translate into like Dean Baker figures, 3% cuts for the older seniors who could least afford them.
Now those are real confidence building words, no room for misunderstanding that position. Color me skeptical--reminds me of the weasel words like we saw on the Public Option. We can do better than that.
Who is pushing for 'reform' anyway ?
Who ?
The Raiders of Your Lost Retirement
Had read elsewhere that this was the case......
What You Need to Know About Obama and the Social Security Sell-Out
The Raiders of Your Lost Retirement are busy laying plans in Washington.
Will Obama help them if re-elected?
Some Senators have said they won't go there.
Senator Bernie Sanders has confirmed this and has signed a pledge with others in the Senate to stop it. He, along with 29 or so other Senators have signed on.
The Nation
“I fear very much that there is a possibility that in a lame-duck session (after the election), President Obama and Democratic leaders will be pressured to make cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid in exchange for some modest revenue increases — much of which will end up coming not from the wealthy but from the middle class,” Sanders told The Nation. “That’s not the way to go, but I’m convinced there are Democrats who are prepared to make that compromise.”
Sanders and twenty-eight other senators have signed a letter declaring that they will “oppose including Social Security cuts for future or current beneficiaries in any deficit reduction package.”
Sanders wants to hear Obama and Biden make that commitment, in coming debates— and on the campaign trail. The senator’s right to demand clarity from the president after Obama confused the issue with his unsettling and (hopefully) inaccurate line about sharing a “somewhat similar position” with Romney.
We should urge the President to firmly state he will not change Social Security.
And we should urge our Senators insure that's what happens.