I know that many of us feel helpless about the oncoming fight over Social Security and tax cuts, and that we're hearing our own Democratic politicians cave in pre-emptively without a thought. They may not have spines, but we do. One inescapable fact in politics is that a politician always hates bad press even in a lame duck session, and that's what we can give them.
Bad press on cutting Social Security benefits, turning it into a welfare program through means-testing, and raising the retirement age.
Bad press on extending the tax cuts for the wealthy temporarily, and refusing to decouple them from the middle class tax cuts.
How do we do this? For starters, we can write letters to the editor using these great tools below opposing the Social Security cuts, raising of the retirement age, and means-testing, and opposing tax cuts extension for the wealthy.
FIGHT BACK BY WRITING YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR!
Here are tips and talking points below on how to get your thoughts out into the press, and the most important tip I can give you is to write your own letter, and not to send in form letters. Newspaper desks usually toss those overboard if they sound canned and scripted.
FIGHT BACK BY WRITING YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR!
So, don't be afraid to go free-form with your thoughts, but keep your words concise and put in a few talking points. If you can, please find your Representative here, so you can mention the Representative's name in the letter. They hate being tagged in these letters to the editor because it's bad press for them, and they know plenty of potential voters in their district read those letters to the editor.
TIPS
- Keep your words concise to about 200 words, and focused on one subject such as Social Security or the tax cuts.
- Reference the deficit reduction proposal by Jan Schakowsky that does NOT cut either Medicare or Social Security, and doesn't raise the retirement age.
- Respond to an article in the newspaper that's on your topic, and it increases the likelihood of your letter being chosen for print.
TALKING POINTS ON SOCIAL SECURITY
- Mention that you oppose turning Social Security into a welfare program through means-testing, and that you don't support cutting SS benefits or the raising of the retirement age.
- In a recent poll, 68% opposed benefit cuts, including raising the retirement age. Instead, Americans want to see the rich pay their share by lifting the cap on Social Security contributions—right now millionaires only pay Social Security taxes on a tiny portion of their income. Mention that doing away with the cap on payroll taxes for incomes above $106,800 more than enough takes care of Social Security for the foreseeable future.
- Mention that hardworking Americans aren't living long enough in terms of life expectancy, and raising the retirement age would be penalizing them in favor of those who are wealthy and can afford to live longer.
- Mention that most Americans over 50 are having a hard time finding jobs, and raising the retirement age would be basically your Representative or Senator telling these Americans go off and die.
- Mention the Representative's name, and the Senator's name as well in the body of the letter.
- Use the points brought up in Schakowsky's progressive plan to cut the budget deficit.
TALKING POINTS ON TAX CUTS FOR BILLIONAIRES
- Mention that you oppose your Representative or Senator, who was recently quoted as being supportive of a temporary extension of tax cuts for the wealthy, in increasing the deficit to give a bailout for the wealthy.
- State that repealing the tax cuts for the wealthy would more than take care of half of the budget deficit.
- Mention that you are in favor of holding separate votes on the tax cut for the middle class and the tax cut for the wealthy. Urge your Representative or Senator to oppose giving the wealthy a temporary bailout.
- Extending the tax cuts for the wealthy would end up making these cuts permanent, and that's what we can't afford in a recession. Urge your elected official to stop bailing out the wealthy.
You are free to institute your own talking points into this letter to the editor tool. I would strongly urge you to make your letter sound custom, not like it's canned or a form letter. And when you're done writing letters to the editor opposing the cuts to Social Security and the tax cuts for the wealthy, you can tell the Democratic National Committee about what you really think about the direction they're taking our party in.
TELL THE DNC WHAT YOU REALLY THINK!
Here's to fighting back, having steels of spine, and showing our elected officials how it's done!