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Social Security cuts are coming for “virtually every American alive and those yet to be born,” in the words of Eric Kingson, co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign.
And for what? Corporate tax cuts.
Seriously: the co-chairs of President Obama’s deficit commission want to cut Social Security benefits for everyone making more than $25,000 a year. And then cap corporate taxes at just 26%.
Every member of this commission, every member of Congress, and President Obama himself must reject these insane ideas. We’re starting an emergency petition to President Obama, and his Catfood Commission to take Social Security cuts off the table.
The proposed cuts to Social Security are so deep, for so many people. This is a direct attack on America’s middle class for the benefit of Corporate America.
We have an opening to keep Social Security safe. Today’s report consists of the recommendations of the Catfood Commission’s co-chairs, who were appointed by President Obama. You’ll remember one of them: Alan “Social Security is a Milk Cow with 310 Million Tits” Simpson. He’s the guy who also said the Catfood Commission had to cut Social Security to “help the lesser people of society.”
Simpson’s ideas are so awful, sixteen other members of the Catfood Commission didn’t want to touch it. Problem is, this is the “starting point” for discussions. This will be negotiated, and many of these awful ideas could be in the final proposal.
We owe our citizens better than a retirement with cat food on the dinner table. That’s why we call it the Catfood Commission: the proposed Social Security cuts to virtually every American would mean far less money in their pockets.
It’s bad enough to even think about cutting Social Security – but to do it to pay for corporate tax cuts? That’s insane. We need to make sure they hear us loud and clear: hands off of Social Security.
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Lemme guess a few things that Simpson forgot to mention:
1. The number of offshore tax havens bleeding America dry
2. The fact that the banks are insolvent, which is being covered up by the Fed with b.s. like QE2.
3. The fact that fraud lies at the heart of the mortgage mess, yet no one has been prosecuted for fraud so the system is still rotten.
4. The fact that in the US today, fundamental rules of law (like property rights) are being demolished by bankster fraud like ‘making up’ mortgage documents that were never properly transferred.
5. The fact that under Simpson’s years in Congress, the finance sector of the US economy expanded to about 40% of GDP, whereas manufacturing was strangled and offshored. (For which reason, loop back to Item #1, offshore tax havens…)
I am so disgusted with the status quo – which, to my mind Simpson personifies to the hilt – that I can hardly stand to read the man’s name.
Stupidity like the Cat Food Commission’s nonsense goes a far way to explain how the US got itself into such a mess. These so-called leaders couldn’t strategize their way out of a brown paper bag if you ask me.
When these fools are ready to talk about the REAL, STRUCTURAL problems in our economic-legal-political system, I’m ready to give them a listen. Until then, it’s all just more stupid bullshit and butt-covering.
If my failing memory serves, I believe that ORahma talked about tapping into off-shore tax havens in the very early days of his Presidency (or perhaps right after the election but before the inauguration). That very excellent idea suddenly *disappeared* from the discussion, never to be heard of again. Guess Rahmbama’s corporate masters reminded them of who’s the boss and who is their real constituent. No touching of off-shore tax havens permitted.
Agree with the rest of your commentary.
One really infuriating thing (I’m so naive!) is how eagerly Andrew Sullivan has embraced this Simpson-Bowles piece of crap.
I urge everyone, everywhere, to go to
http://www.theatlantic.com/contact/
and tell his employer, Atlantic magazine, what you think of his delighted response to the Catfood Commission. Maybe if Andrew had to go find another job in this environment he wouldn’t be so eager to make the rest of us wait till we’re 70 to get reduced benefits.
Signed, and trying to keep my blood pressure down…
Signed !
hope by now y’all have seen the FDL Cat Food Commission Resource Page
you’re gonna need it
and when has Obama listened to the base?
The public is being worn down over time and in the process being made incapable of outrage. After hearing over and over again that they need to sacrifice and the rich need to benefit more, middle class either internalize the message or tune out because they can’t stand to hear it (or they are in denial that the ruling class really DOES want to feast on their bones). Expect less outrage from this than there should be*
*What there SHOULD be, as always, includes pitchforks.
Ex-base.
Need a Wealth Commission to tax rich people and to big to fail corporations.
I think Ted Rall’s solution is at least as viable as this Catfood Commission proposal.
Let’s see: make home ownership less affordable, raise gas taxes, cut taxes for the rich and corporations, reduce Social Security eligibility AND benefits, and tax employer-provided health benefits as income.
Yeah, go frack yourself, Erskine!
I included the following message ” Cut the insane military budget in half and in half again , if you need more money, then we’ll talk.”
Someone maybe glanced at the first two or three of these. Then they stopped even glancing at them.
Electronic Petitions are not activism.
We need real political activism now.
We need people to start planning and leading real political activism to stop that social security grab.
Agreed, petitions basically amount to nothing in Washington. Heck, even protests mean nothing in Washington post-2003. I think that the left needs to start developing 21st century strategies to these problems.
I look forward to hearing President Obama’s well-considered response after he’s painstakingly looked over the content of the petition, and read over the bio’s and comments of all the signatories.
Agreed on both. DC Marches are pointless too.
We need to make the right scream. What makes the right scream.
These fascists don’t care about blood on their hands. They didn’t care about bodies in New Orleans. Torture didn’t even make them blink.
What makes the right scream?
Kick ‘em in the wallet.
Signatures on a petition are a good way to tell our new commisars “we aren’t serious, ignore us”. How about an all-out push to stop funding the Democratic Party?
Money-talks, Bullshit walks.
Agreed. FDL could lead the way here.
But what should we do?
The S.S. grab should certainly galvanize
the so-called ‘lesser people’.
How to?
Focussed boycotts?
I think THIS will make the war mongers howl… Wanna play hardball? Let’s play hardball.
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202474005309
We can play some fuckin’ hardball, too.
Excellent.
Signed.
Here’s my comment:
You can also send comments directly to the Catfood Commission at commission@fc.eop.gov.
It is a CATegorical IMPERATIVE that Social Security cuts be CATaracted CATatonic! CATnip it in the budget! Send the Catfood Commissars To the CATacombs, instead!
Knoxville… You think even the intern of an assistant of a staffer of anyone that matters is going going to read those comments?
CATfood Commission = CATastrophe!
Yes. And they’re going to be reported to the staffers who matter and to the people on the commission. It’s definitely worth sending messages.
Forget Obama. He thinks this is going to be his legacy. Bombard Congress instead.
What we need is a primary and/or third party challenge. If we don’t stop this, game over. What possible point is there in electing Democrats if their best idea is appointing Alan Simpson to tell them what to do? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just let Republicans screw us directly? Since we appear to have a one party state either give the people a real alternative, or in the interest of deficit reduction, stop the wasteful duplication of far right parties.
That’s either the funniest, or most naive thing I’ve read today, seriously.
No, no one in the Obama administration is going to read a petition, yet less the comments and an “electronic” petition? they’ll just delete the email without reading. And the catfood commission? maybe you’ve mistaken them for aristocrats who care what “lesser people” like yourself think.
If Obama thinks he can escape responsibility for this, he is one dumb SOB.
Signed. I also left a comment. Something about the French Revolution.
O will go into full Sanctimony mode while framing these proposals as leader-y and brave-ish ways of preserving something- or- other for future generations. He will frame opponents as selfish, unreasonable, unrealistic left ideologues. It will get ugly.
True, but it’s a good fundraising and motivational tool for FDL, which is actually some helpful action. FDL is one of the few left-leaning blogs discussing practical issues and isn’t in the bag for the administration.
As to the people commenting, “Why do Americans keep taking it?”… it’s only because responsibility hasn’t been assigned – yet. Some has-beens on a blue panel commission count for nothing in people’s daily lives, however ridiculous their proposals. But if they actually try to implement this stuff…
If they actually try to go forward with tax increases and benefits cuts, there’ll be a reaction. Responsibility can be assigned. It won’t be like the real estate meltdown, where responsibility was diffused over banks, Fannie/Freddie, consumers, speculators, Wall Street, regulators, Congress, etc. If the feds try to raise taxes, or cut Social Security, THAT’s a story that people will understand and get mighty pissed off about.
yeah. a tremendous, sustained wall of noise will eventually get the attention of these tools. then kicking the elected tools out of their offices will drive the point home.
Did I read David’s report right–the evil capitalist oink oinks are going to get rid of PBS? Not that PBS was any great shakes.
Man, the US of Amnesia is circling the toilet bowl faster than I could predict. Capitalism is eating itself.
I signed this petition. And as a rule, I don’t sign online petitions. But I signed this one in my Dad’s memory — a disabled “retired” traditional jazz pianist and singer who couldn’t have raised his second family on a musician’s union pension and jar tips alone. I’m now listening to a live version of Elton John’s “Burn Down The Mission”. I read the news that a piece of London burned down today, oh boy…
I regretfully agree. He seems to have a built in reflex to hurt the ones he loves. He thinks if he does this the oligarchy will love him, allow him in to the secret room of the star chamber at last!
Well, we are in for one hard thrashing, and BHO will be standing there telling us we need it.
BTW, the right wing war drums are starting to become audible, and they want to unilaterally strike Iran like , NOW.
Even Lindsey Graham was gleefully rattling the saber. And even David Broder thought it would be just what the economy needs to recover! Right, a third war front with additional tax cuts. Brilliant, I say!!
Yeah, I hear you,
Has anyone here ever written an angry letter to your congressman in complete disagreement with said rep. only to get a letter back thanking you for your support? Now that will piss you off.
American politics = final scene of Apocalypse Now
the water buffalo = SocSec
the Montagnard tribesmen = the Republican Congress
Capn. WIllard = Paul Krugman
the zoned out hippy kid = the American voter
Col. Kurtz = Obama
The clowns are in need of a slap down.
Massive general strike. We need to RESPOND with feeling.
Warning Vent Zone:
What was the point of HCR if we are cutting SS and other entitlements? Is the guy a freakin’ idiot? Is that the the best we got?
Well I didn’t want to come right out and say that petitions, for anything other than getting things onto ballots, are monu-fucking-mentally huge wastes of time, because the general response seems to already understand that.
I’d be interested in some kind of sponsorship program. Like where we donate money to some collective of D.C. metro unemployed whose job it is to go armed with Flip cams and progressive talking points to just harass the ever loving shit out of Congressional members.
I mean what would it take to get a couple thousand people to descend on D.C. in such a fashion for a solid year? They wouldn’t have to be the same people. Might as well be a rotating cast of the unemployed, terminally-ill, etc.
Too bad they waited until after the elections, the GOP could have gotten a veto proof congress.
We need to make big cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The GOP ran on cutting government spending and Paul Ryan’s road map calls for big cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Seniors voted for Republicans in 2010 and they also voted for McCain in 2008. We need to cut these programs now because seniors are asking for it and these huge debts shouldn’t be passed onto younger generations.
We might be thinking of different enemies.
For example, I do not consider the rank-and-file libertarian to be my enemy, because while we may disagree about specific policy initiatives, we agree that the political system has rendered policy debates irrelevant; American politicians do whatever is asked of them by their campaign donors and future private sector employers. The system has become thoroughly corrupt.
So what do we do in this situation? Render national politics irrelevant, by exclusively focusing your time/money/effort on local/municipal organization. When I say ‘exclusively’ I mean that you should not donate your time, money, or effort on national elections. This proscription includes voting, which is the ultimate validation of the thoroughly corrupt system. Once they have no mandate whatsoever (i.e. < 25% turnout), let them make up whatever fantasy-for-laws they want… and we'll see 1. who bothers to enforce them; and 2. who bothers to listen.
Food for thought: jaywalking is illegal; why do we all do it any way?
Amen! America’s “leaders” look an awful lot like the thieving crowd of suitors in the House of Odysseus upon his homecoming …
“Simpson’s ideas are so awful, sixteen other members of the Catfood Commission didn’t want to touch it. Problem is, this is the “starting point” for discussions. This will be negotiated, and many of these awful ideas could be in the final proposal.”
So Simpson is the new Baucus?
Lot of Main Stream Folks still remember some more salient things Deficit reduction can happen:
1. How about the Swiss bank accounts where the taxes were not paid but apparently nothing happened.
2. What happened to funds in QE1 given by FED couple of trillions.
3. What happened to TARP funds.
4. How about reducing cost foot-print in the one WAR thankfully finally a legitimate WAR.
5. How about progressive Taxation of top-tier 90% (effective rate way less) from Eisenhowers Era.
6. How about the housing risks government took on itself during the last one year.
7. How about taxation from unregulated derivative markets.
Nothing happened and now they want to grab the only savings most of the people have i.e. in their Social Security and keep them and economy under the full wall street control with unregulated derivative markets. I cannot think of a more horrible, inhuman thing anybody can envision on their fellow members in the society about their fellow member savings when they are in retirement.
In the 80s-90s-00s the right took the example of the left in the 60s-70s re. their aggressive protests at Planned Parenthood and at the town hall meetings in 2009 .
I think we need to spread that around a little more ourselves. We need some POd lefties showing up at the town halls this summer when the meat of this turd will be the main subject.
Also, the left needs to embrace their 2nd amendment rights?
Considering not one foul mouthed Bagger or gun toting mouth breather was arrested or detained, it would be interesting to see how many lefties are hauled off to jail in similar protests.
Social Security is doing just fine.
In fact Social Security is just about the ONLY government program that is well funded for as far as we can forecast. It has a huge surplus of well over 2.5 trillion dollars that will continue to grow to well over 4 trillion dollars before it begins to decline. Sometime between 20 and 30 years from now that trust fund will run out, and SS will have to run on its current revenues – just like it did for its first half century of existence. That is not ‘broken’, that is what it was always intended to do. Once the trust fund is gone, we can continue to fund benefits at 80% of current levels basically forever. Not bad, do absolutely nothing at all and SS doesn’t have to cut a penny, increase the retirement age or reduce any benefits for at least 20 years, and after that can go forever with just a 20% cut. So why do they want to reduce benefits by more than that now?
I have a better idea. Let’s enhance Social Security so that it lowers unemployment, stimulates the economy, and restores confidence.
* Reduce unemployment by lowering the voluntary retirement age to 60 instead of raising it to 69. Life expectancy is mainly increasing because fewer people are dying young – but people reaching the end of their working years are not actually living significantly longer – and a lifetime of work, especially low wage physical labor, is not easier on today’s sexagenarians. 69 might be a good retirement age for a banker, but not for skilled iron-workers, or auto workers, or even janitors. Let them retire earlier and open up those jobs.
* Turn FICA into a true flat tax, rather than the regressive tax it is now. Currently FICA taxes are 12.4% of the first $106,800 in earned wages (split between worker and employer), and absolutely nothing on any income above that – and FICA taxes are not collected on unearned income such as dividends and capital gains. Let’s make it a true flat tax, Collect it on all income – no exceptions. We could then easily pay for lowering the voluntary retirement age, and never have to reduce benefits, and at the same time we could probably cut the FICA tax rate to half of its current level.
Reduce unemployment, substantially reduce FICA taxes for most taxpayers, preserve benefits and create confidence in today’s workers that Social Security will be there for their retirement. Damn that sounds downright conservative!
bluemark, you are simply correct.
Yet as Twain says; ‘A lie will travel the world twice before the truth can get it’s boots on.’ or something like that.
The more I read about this turd, the more it looks like the final assault on the middle and working class in this country.
BHOs Jello spine better harden, and quick. Maybe Nancy can save us.
One other suggestion for SocSec; Break out the lock box.
One more:
Require a yearly ‘War Surtax’ to pay for Afg/Iraq and the upcoming Iran adventure. Make all Americans pay a share of the previous year’s war costs, as we go. This will show how supportive the American people are of their loved wars, as well as control our long term debt.