Bernie Sanders: Lift the Income Cap on Social Security -- Problem Solved
Sen. Bernie Sanders talked to Ed Schultz about John Boehner and the Republicans wanting to destroy the social safety nets in America and their goal of privatizing Social Security and putting it in the hands of Wall Street and raising the retirement age. Sen. Sanders pointed out that there's a very simple way to make sure Social Security remains solvent. Raise the income cap on the tax so it's less regressive.
SANDERS: Massive amounts of misinformation and disinformation. The truth of the matter is, Social Security today has a $2.6 trillion surplus. Social Security can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 27 years, at which point it could pay out about 80 percent of all benefits.
What does that mean? It means that within 27 years, we have to figure out how we deal with that gap. In my view, what you do is you lift the income cap so that people making more than $250,000 contribute more into the system.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
SANDERS: Right now, you‘re making $1 million—you‘re putting the same into the system as somebody making $106,000. Do it, problem solved, end of discussion.
SCHULTZ: OK. So, their method is misinformation. Their goal is to do what, line the pockets of the big boys on Wall Street?
SANDERS: Absolutely. Look, what the debate is about, Ed, is not really about the finances of Social Security. It‘s an ideological debate. You know as well as I do, these guys don‘t like government. They love Wall Street.
If you destroy Social Security and people want to have a retirement account, you invest in Wall Street. Wall Street makes over a period of time tens and tens of billions of dollars. That, in fact, is the long-term goal.
Second of all, if you have a Social Security system, as we have right now, which for 75 years, Ed—and people should appreciate that—has paid out every nickel owed to every eligible American in a very cost-effective way. You know what? People might actually have some faith in government.
You can read the rest of the transcript for this segment here. Bernie made a lot of other great points as well on raising the retirement age and how these people out there protesting at these tea party rallies are being duped.
...that for years.
I live in Florida and it kills me to see people cruising or teeing off at an exclusive golf club knowing it is their "spending money" from Social Security. Yes, it is an entitlement into which they have paid, I get that, but not proportionately. My father used to rib me and say, "I got my COLA this year." To which I'd reply, "Aren't you going to thank me for it? Who do you think is paying for it?" I don't think he ever understood that and I'm certain the majority of Americans don't.
"Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying..."-------Roger Waters, "Comfortably Numb"
in it. Are you making a joke or are you serious? Entitlement? You mean like your savings account?
..I beleive we are saying the same thing. But it is not a "mutual fund" in that the nvestor picks the investment. Present payments on past accrual of benefit is made with present day deposits. IF you are not familiar with Defined Benefit plans, you will have a difficult tiem grasping how it works.
"Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying..."-------Roger Waters, "Comfortably Numb"
...Ot.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
should be able to understand it.
That they won't, doesn't mean that they can't, it's just that they don't want to!
It doesn't profit them enough to open up their eyes, unless it profits them enought to stuff their wallet's.
Propaganda, Uber....
Oooops, how uncivil of me...
The reality is, the tea baggers and the rest of the Republicans fully understand that all you have to do is either raise or eliminate the cap all together and all problems are solved. But they are scared of the "problem" being forever solved because it takes a huge issue away from them. Just like the immigration issue. They don't want to solve it because it takes away a campaign issue.
Election 2012: Be Educated! Be Active! Vote!
www.PhoenixJustice.com
SS won't be fully funded come 2027? Omigod, to the battle stations! We must cut benefits now!!!
Loss of our manufacturing base? Peak oil here now? Climate change? A financial system lost on microchips? Infrastructure falling apart? Disappearing middle class? God will show us the way.
Get ready for the outrage from the haves' and the phony outrage from their followers. Why can't we give the rational amongst us a platform that everyone will see?
Heh, well, because neither "we" nor "the rational" currently control the platform. It is not in the interests of those who control the national platforms (e.g. 24-hour cable chatter stations) to have rational discussion.
The better question would be, How can we claim (or reclaim?) control of the platform so that the rational among us can be heard?
And once we do, how do we persuade people to see things rationally?
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
No WAY! Those poor folks who barely squeek into that free ride after $106k really NEED that money or they won't make jobs (or something like that) - Especially the poor SOB's making their first million or billion.
No way should they actually pay anything - we need to reduce the benefits - up the age - and cut the costs - (that makes more sense in DC?)
Senator Sanders is very often right and righteous.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
The conservatives of this country want to move the centre of power from Washington DC
To New York City?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Eliminating the cap is a solution that everybody can understand and can be explained to Joe Sixpack without sending them into a coma. I'm overjoyed to see it finally entering the fringes of the adult conversation on SS. When i see a Villager mention it, that will be a happy day indeed. In the meantime...
Run, Bernie, run!
Yeah, otherwise they'd buy a case.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Bingo ! Just raise the cap , simple . But that would go against everything goin down in this country for the last thirty years and be a step backwards ! You will not hear the MSM , the Republicans ( obviously ) or the Democrats even bring up the fact that raising the cap will take care of any SSI funding problems for decades to come , they don't want it solvent , they want to keep chipping away at it and if they could have their way , eliminate it . Instead of raising the cap Obama actually reduces the amount going in with one of his gifts to the Repugs ! Nope , if we are to keep SSI in this country the people gotta fight to keep it . Polls indicate that even the Tea Baggers don't want their SSI touched . If the Dems /Obama do not support and defend SSI they are done , finished , that would be the last straw . I would write in Homer Simpson from that point on ... if I even bothered to vote at all .
"The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all."
the cap? all we have to do is raise it again only just remove it.
If the recent actions of elected Tea Party senators are any indication, the Tea party faithful have the charms of a prom date with genital herpes and a raging skin infection.
I'd go for Moe (the bartender) myself, I suspect Ned Flanders may be a teabagger.
We should ask Bernie to sprinkle some of his magic pixie dust on the (non-existant) medicare/medicaid problem we have next? (yapple dapple ala Kazzam)
Perhaps California should ask Bernie to come sprinkle some magic pixie dust on some of their fiscal problems?
"Poof" (problem solved) !!!
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
I understand the skeptical impulse anytime anyone says "All we need to do is X, and everything is solved." Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
Of course, that's probably.
Aside from the fact that Sen. Sanders' solution sounds too simple, can you elaborate on why you think he is wrong?
I ask in all sincerity. If you have an argument, I really do want to hear it, and understand it.
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
you may be considered for canonization.
..to want to increase taxes on the rich. (go Bernie!)
However...if he thinks it's gonna magically fix anything worthwhile that needs fixing he should be tested for hallucinogens.
America is flat broke with maxxed out credit cards and has been robbed blind by big international banks.
taxing the few people left in the U.S. (5-10%?) who actually make more than 250 grand a year is futile.
Maybe if we were to close about a thousand overseas military bases and get out of Afghanistan then maybe....
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
As I understood Sen. Sanders' statement, it referred to a fix for Social Security, which is not in the dire straits Republicans want us to think it is. And that's all it was about. No crisis to be seen; just a problem with a tangible solution.
I don't recall his even alluding to fixing life, the universe and everything at all, much less with the pixie dust of higher taxes.
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
Which is a hell of a lot more people.
Removing or raising the cap absolutely would help SS in the long run.
What they should really do is raise or remove the cap AND lower the retirement age to 59 1/2 for the "early" payout to get more people to retire as that is the same age people can start drawing from their IRA accounts.
I'll be that age in about 16 years and I would stop working for sure. At least stop working a corporate job. My wife will still be earning a good income at that point as she's 7 years younger than me. Right now, Boomers and people my age can't take the early pay out from SS until 62.
I hope your saving as much as you can now. Many today can't afford to retire now and if we keep down this path we're on, no one will be able to afford retirement.
doesn't really have to worry about paying more tax into SS, because most of his 'income' is graft from corps. and political assns.
And, he surely doesn't have to worry about working to, or past, age 70 - 'cause his liver and whatever brain cells he has will never last that long!!!!
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
That book really outlines how the PR firms for big business manipulate the public. It is a primer for how these guys are creating fake grass root groups, how they're put out false information, how they are influencing polls and then turning to the congress with the numbers and putting them in a strangle hold. If they vote against the people's wishes they won't be reelected. The problem is what are the people's wishes and what has been manipulated?
Jeanne
Lift the cap and stop spending the money on other things.
This is a simple thing that both sides should agree on but...
It's time for the rich to pay into SS. However, the Republicans (with their "defend the rich at all costs" stance) will never agree to this. In fact they want the income limit to be lowered to $0.
it makes me angry that the people with brains are not the ones in charge. When Boner and co. destroy the country, the teabaggers will have themselves to blame.
NOBODY 2012
and it says it all:
http://pavlovianobeisance.com/SS_Tax.htm
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
This man is one of only a couple of sane voices in congress. (The other is Kucinich.) When are we going to get over the fear we have of -- dare I even whisper it? -- socialism? The only things that hold us back from being a democratic socialist nation like those of Western Europe are greed and ignorance. We are a plutocracy, and as long as those in the middle continue to dream that they, too, may someday join the Pluto-Elite, they will fear change and defend untenable positions unbefitting of a nation that calls itself a democracy.
"Respect for the rights of others is peace." --Benito Juarez
Dems always have to solve the Reslugs massive problems, they caused because Reslugs are just too damn stupid to figure anything out except tax cuts.
... except that the little people -- the people that will need it -- don't fund the elections. Just 1% of our wealthiest do, and they would rather that SSI money is spent instead on corporate giveaways that are funded by the taxpayers. And to keep us geezers in the workforce for an extra 2 or 4 years is absolute stupidity when our youngsters are out of work.
Jack Lohman
http://MoneyedPoliticians.net
Jack Lohman
MoneyedPoliticians.net
Could it be THAT simple? Of course it can be that simple. And ANY NeoCon|NeoLiberal conversation that includes Social Security AND "entitlement" in the same sentence is a lying mother-fucking kleptocrat. SS is a totally self-funded Trust for the benefit of America's citizens, not for the corporate gamblers|mobsters on Wall Street.
The TBTF|TBTJ Banksters, Wall Street Mobsters, and the NY Fed Reserve have been working overtime on designs to gain access to the Social Security Trust, with their willing, bought-and-paid-for politicians and pundits as cheerleaders for their false paradigm. These kleptocrats have been busy strip-mining the USA economy for decades, and other than the perpetual war machine|M.I.C.C. virtually all other pools of money have already been stripped bare. The extremely low (zero?) interest rate that the favored few crony corporations get from the NY Fed have been used to fuel the buy-out of the remaining few gems in the economy -- and that ultra-low rate of return also forces money into the Wall Street Mobsters' investment Ponzi schemes.
Wall Street is a rigged game, worse by far than any casino where you at least know what the casino's house odds are. Not so with Wall Street -- where the NY Fed had plowed over $13 Trillion USD into favored banks and corporations, domestic and foreign, with absolutely no formal audit. Without knowing which banks and corporations were the beneficiaries of such fiduciary largesse, who is to know with any degree of certainty if a stocks' or bonds' posted value has not been manipulated? We already know that Moodys and every other rating agency on Wall Street has engaged in collusion & conspiracy to defraud -- the mere fact that they have not all been sent to prison under State & Fed RICO statutes is stark testimony that the corruption from Wall Street is a pandemic. That is not a financial environment in which to dump the Social Security Trust Fund, not unless the objective is to steal it.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
-- John F. Kennedy
... and the politicians are right in their pocket. Only public funding of campaigns will reverse it, but only 100% turnover in congress will make that happen.
Jack Lohman
MoneyedPoliticians.net
Bernie Sanders or
the GOP??
I'll Stick with Bernie Sanders.
He's Got My Vote.
To the GOP
Keep your hands off!!
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