President Biden struck a chord in his State of the Union address—because now, Republicans are insisting that they really do want to save Social Security and Medicare. They are lying, and it's now on us to remain vigilant.
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As Talking Points Memo reported, the Republican Study Committee—a House caucus that includes about 75% of all House Republicans—released a proposed 2023 budget called the Blueprint to Save America, which included every kind of Social Security cut imaginable.
Sign if you agree: Republicans want to cut Medicare and Social Security.
The so-called Blueprint to Save America proposed 1) raising the eligibility age from 67 to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; 2) cutting the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; 3) means-testing Social Security benefits; 4) work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and 5) allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts.
This is above and beyond all of the well-publicized statements we have heard from Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. (The very memorable: “It will be my objective to phase out Social Security, to pull it up by the roots and get rid of it,” Lee said in 2010.)
It doesn't matter how much Republicans complain now. They are just mad that they got caught lying.
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Social Security and Medicare are lifelines that all Americans rely on and have paid into. Republicans have been on the warpath for years to privatize them. Only when they get exposed—such as in the current debt limit fight—do they act obtuse and pretend to have had nothing to do with it.
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President Biden nailed it last week in Florida. “Republicans don’t like being called out on this,” he said. “A lot of Republicans—their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare. Well, let me say this: If that’s your dream, I’m your nightmare."
We must never let these Republicans forget. We must never let anyone forget. For today, and all future budget fights, we need to be vigilant to protect Social Security and Medicare.
Sign if you agree: Republicans want to cut Medicare and Social Security.