After pressure from activists from Firedoglake, the National Organization for Women, CREDO Action and Social Security Works, the AARP has listened to its membership and dropped its narrow survey on the future of Social Security and Medicare. In April, I wrote about how AARP’s “You’ve Earned a Say” survey seemed like nothing more than a [...]

James Clyburn has just been appointed to the Super Congress Catfood II Commission,  and will now have powers above those or an ordinary member of Congress when it comes to determining the future of Social Security and Medicare.  So I thought it would be a good time to re-run Mike Stark’s interview with Clyburn from May of 2010 regarding Clyburn’s support for cutting Social Security benefits.

I called Hoyer’s office this morning to ask if he considers cutting the COLA a benefit cut, but haven’t received a response.

If AARP is really opposed to cutting Social Security benefits as part of a “grand bargain” to reduce the deficit, you’d think they’d come right out and say it. Instead, they’re just recycling all of President Obama’s weasel-word tactics about “supporting” the public option (and we all know how well that worked out).

I previously wrote how from a policy perspective I think it would be idiotic for progressives to even allow the idea of changing Social Security to be entertained right now, but it is equally important that elected Democrats realize that from a purely political perspective, refusing to make any changes to Social Security is an [...]

Looking at the current political environment and gaming out the possible actions that could be taken it seems abundantly clear that progressives best course of action on Social Security is to simply refuse to even think about allowing any changes in the program. Progressives should also follow Harry Reid’s advice by sticking to this “just [...]

President Obama has packed the Debt Commission (also known as the cat food commission) with members who have an overwhelming history of support for both benefit cuts and privatization of Social Security. The “National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform” is operating in secret over the objections of both parties. John Boehner and John Conyers [...]

John Spratt, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, was recently appointed by President Obama to the Debt Commission. I’ve been going through documents looking at his history regarding Social Security reform, and his involvement in “secret meetings” in 1997 authorized by Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.  Bowles was at the time negotiating a deal [...]