Tag Archives: Social Security

BREAKING: Reports say the president just offered to cut Social Security benefits, if Republicans agree not to let the U.S. default on its debts.¹

It’s his offering to the out-of-control Republicans, who are threatening to crash the economy in order to ram through savage cuts to crucial government programs.

It’s sickening to think that millions of seniors would have to sacrifice in order to appease Republican hostage-takers. Especially because every poll shows overwhelming majority of Americans support raising taxes on the rich and protecting Social Security and Medicare.²

But there’s still time to stop this “bargain” in its tracks. Whatever deal the president offers Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass Congress. So we need Democrats in Congress to stand strong and oppose any benefit cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Can you sign our emergency petition to Democrats in Congress and tell them to stand up and tell the President they will not vote for Social Security and Medicare benefits cuts? Add your name here.

President Obama is making a huge mistake that will cost our country dearly.

This is one of those moments where we either stand up and demand that the Democrats in Congress show a real spine. Or we sit back and watch the Republicans destroy decades’ worth of progress.

Will you help send a message demanding that Democrats draw a clear line in the sand: no cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits?

Click here to add your name: http://pol.moveon.org/bad_debt_deal/?id=28665-17809870-IiKa5ex&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Wes, Elena, Julia, and the rest of the team

Source:

1. “In Debt Talks, Obama Offers Social Security Cuts,” The Washington Post, July 6, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=210871&id=28665-17809870-IiKa5ex&t=5

2. “Poll: To Reduce Deficit, Most Americans say Tax the Rich More,” CBS News, January 3, 2011
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20027036-503544.html

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As One Budget Battle Ends, Another Begins …from -Joan Entmacher and Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

04/18/2011 Nativegrl77

Thank you for all you have done to help protect women and their families. We are counting on you in the struggles to come to fight these efforts to destroy programs that millions of Americans need every day.

from …

Joan Entmacher

Vice President, Family Economic Security

National Women’s Law Center

Judy Waxman

Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights

National Women’s Law Center

As you’ve probably heard, Congress has approved and the President signed a spending bill for the remainder of the federal government’s current fiscal year. And thanks to your support, we were able to safeguard (and even increase) funding for some vital programs.

Under this plan, which funds programs through the end of September, the budget for Head Start will increase, allowing 60,000 low-income children to continue receiving a valuable jumpstart to their education. Plus, we put the brakes on the effort to take away funding for Planned Parenthood and other critical family planning services across the country. If anti-choice politicians had prevailed, many women would have had nowhere to turn for contraception and preventive health screenings.

Unfortunately, however, these actions came at a high price: the 2011 budget agreement forbids the District of Columbia from using its own local tax dollars to give low-income women access to abortion services they need, putting an already vulnerable population at increased risk. And the agreement includes cuts to health, education and human services programs that will be detrimental to women and their families.

But the fight we had over this year’s budget is dwarfed by what we’re facing farther down the road. The House Republican majority just voted today for a budget for 2012 and beyond that would give more tax breaks to millionaires and corporations while eviscerating Medicaid, Medicare and other programs vital to women.

In supporting Representative Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, the House voted to:Cut, then cap, Medicaid, which would cause millions of vulnerable women to lose their health coverage. End Medicare as we know it, replacing the current guaranteed insurance system with a voucher program that would stick seniors with higher health care costs.

Cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, permanently extending the Bush-era tax cuts, capping the top personal income tax, extending the December 2010 reduction in the estate tax for multi-million dollar estates, and lowering corporations’ tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent.

Put Social Security cuts on a fast-track in Congress, placing millions of women and others who rely on Social Security benefits at risk.

Other provisions in the bill would slash funding for domestic programs such as child care, Head Start, K-12 education, Pell grants, family planning and other women’s health services, job training, housing and energy assistance, and services for the elderly.

The list goes on, but here’s the bottom line: this budget would unravel the fragile safety net for millions of Americans even as it puts TRILLIONS of dollars in the pockets of corporations and the wealthy. This isn’t a fiscal plan — it’s an attack on the very idea that our society should protect its most vulnerable members and on public structures that give ALL Americans a chance at a better life.

Sincerely,

Joan Entmacher

Vice President, Family Economic Security

National Women’s Law Center

Judy Waxman

Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights

National Women’s Law Center

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We need a budget that works for all of us …

04/11/2011 Nativegrl77

You may have seen in the news recently how GE¹—like many other multinational corporations—is getting away with paying zero taxes, even though it raked in $26 billion in record profits.

Unbelievable, right? Well it’s only going to get worse—if we don’t stop it.

http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yHzrr33xgU1Ywr6ssSyVENJtMUMH5SJ%2B&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.afscme.org%2Fc%2F51%2Fp%2Fdia%2Faction%2Fpublic%2F%3Faction_KEY%3D1882%26amp%3Btag%3DAdvE_201104_BackToFuture_blast-32792%26amp%3Btrack%3DAdvE_201104_BackToFuture_blast-32792%26amp%3Butm_source%3Dblast-32792%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Demail%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3D BackToFuture

This week, House leadership released a budget that is an extreme version of old policies to hand more tax breaks to millionaires and corporations—while putting all the sacrifice on the backs of working people. This back to the future budget would radically undermine the economic security of America’s middle class.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, “House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s fiscal year 2012 budget resolution would undermine the modern social safety net, reversing the gains America has made in health and economic opportunity. This resolution would deny millions of middle-and low-income households access to the American Dream.”

Please click here to tell your representative NO to going back to the future. It’s time to move forward with a budget that works for everyone.

Many vital public services and programs are targeted for near destruction by Ryan:

The budget would end the guaranteed benefits of Medicare that seniors and the disabled depend on. Medicare would be replaced with a voucher that would be paid to insurance companies. The plan is designed to shift more costs onto seniors while giving insurance companies more control.

The budget would slash support for seniors and the disabled in nursing homes by cutting Medicaid by nearly $800 billion over ten years.

This budget even lays out a plan for making future cuts to Social Security.

These leaders in Congress are so committed to protecting tax breaks for their corporate donors, that they are about to shut down the federal government rather than compromise. Instead, they are demanding a budget that would destroy public services, jobs, K-12 schools, public safety and more.

Enough. Please take a moment to send a message to your member of Congress now. Click here. http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zFp8q5VhdL9DKRZe1iPYHtJtMUMH5SJ%2B&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.afscme.org%2Fc%2F51%2Fp%2Fdia%2Faction%2Fpublic%2F%3Faction_KEY%3D1882%26amp%3Btag%3DAdvE_201104_BackToFuture_blast-32792%26amp%3Btrack%3DAdvE_201104_BackToFuture_blast-32792%26amp%3Butm_source%3Dblast-32792%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Demail%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3D BackToFuture

Thanks for all you do,

Chuck Loveless

Legislative Director

AFSCME

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Rep. Chris Van Hollen …CRITICAL FEC DEADLINE: Fight the Radical Republican Agenda

03/28/2011 Nativegrl77

It’s a sham.

House Republicans think they can impose their right-wing agenda — privatizing Social Security and ending Medicare as we know it — under the pretext of deficit reduction.

And here’s the scary part: if we don’t stop them, that’s exactly what they’ll do.

The DCCC is up with ads calling Republicans out on their real agenda, but with only 3 days until the FEC deadline hits, they are still more than $200,000 short of hitting their Million Dollar grassroots goal.

Contribute $3 or more right now and my fellow House Democrats and I will match every dollar you give with $2 of our own, tripling your impact.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cb4c/1b9dd8ab/57a3a5e6/4e0d1563/1704337409/VEsE/

Republicans are not serious about deficits. If they were, then why give huge tax breaks to the Big Oil companies and the wealthiest Americans that will add a trillion dollars to the deficit?

I’ve seen their budget plans. Here’s what they are really serious about:

**Stopping Planned Parenthood from offering cancer screening and family planning services.

**Repealing Health Insurance Reform

**Ending Medicare as we know it and imposing the cost of rising health care on senior citizens. Under their scheme, seniors would lose their current Medicare guarantees and be left to the whims of the insurance industry.

We can’t stand by and let House Republicans launch this risky experiment with our seniors’ health care.

Contribute $3 or more right now and my fellow House Democrats and I will match every dollar you give with $2 of our own, tripling your impact.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63cb4c/1b9dd8ab/57a3a5e6/4e0d1563/1704337409/VEsE/

As a former DCCC Chairman and current Ranking Member of the Budget Committee, let me tell you from experience: the numbers that each party reports after these FEC deadlines can make all the difference. The media, pundits, and Members of Congress here on Capitol Hill will be watching to see which side has the momentum. We can’t fall short now — Contribute today.

Thank you,

Rep. Chris Van Hollen

P.S. The first FEC quarterly deadline of the year is just 3 days from now. We must exceed our $1 million grassroots goal to show Republicans, their special interest backers, and pundits that we are united, strong, and determined to fight back against the right-wing Republican agenda. Contribute now.

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Can you call Senator Cantwell?

03/25/2011 Nativegrl77

Please call Senator Cantwell and tell her… “Don’t vote for a budget that makes cuts to education, health care, and Social Security, and puts corporations and millionaires above hardworking Americans.”

I never wanted a handout.

I just wanted to get my nursing degree and build the life I’ve dreamed of. I wanted to provide my daughter with the opportunities that my mother couldn’t give me when I was growing up.

That’s my dream, but I’m afraid my dream is about to die.

Republicans are trying to cut the financial aid I rely on to pay my tuition. Last year, as a student, I couldn’t find steady work and earned less than $4,500. If my financial aid is taken away from me, I won’t be able to afford to get my nursing degree.

Once again I’m going to have to choose between paying rent or buying diapers, between having heat or having enough food for my family to eat. Can you imagine the pain involved in making those choices?

Can you help save my dream? The Senate is on recess, and Senator Maria Cantwell is home in Washington. Can you call her in her district office in Everett, and ask her to vote against any budget that makes cuts to education, health care, and Social Security, and puts corporations and millionaires above hardworking Americans like me?

Here’s where to call:

Senator Maria Cantwell

Everett office: 425-303-0114

I recently got a part-time job at Walmart and with that money, along with my student aid, I’m now able to cover all my expenses. I even had enough money to get new glasses for the first time in six years. I’ve struggled to get this far, but I finally feel like I’m going to be able to make a good life for myself and my daughter.

Please, don’t let the Republicans take all this away from me. You see, the cuts they want to make aren’t abstract. And they aren’t limited to student aid, either. They’re trying to cut job training, food aid to women and children, and more. Congress doesn’t seem to understand the consequences to people like me all across the country if these programs are cut.

Can you call Senator Maria Cantwell, and ask her to vote against any budget that makes cuts to education, health care, and Social Security, and puts corporations and millionaires above hardworking Americans like me?

Senator Maria Cantwell

Everett office: 425-303-0114

Thank you.

–Katryna Wade, Arkansas