First Posted: 11-11-10 04:10 PM | Updated: 11-11-10 05:06 PM
WASHINGTON -- The leaders of President Obama's debt commission drew national ire Wednesday for proposing sweeping cuts to federal programs, including Social Security.
In an interview with The Huffington Post on Wednesday night, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), one of 18 members of the commission, criticized what she described as a "right-leaning plan" from the panel's two co-chairmen, former Bill Clinton adviser Erskine Bowles and former senator Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.).
"As far as I'm concerned the proposal is dead on arrival and should be soundly rejected," Schakowsky told HuffPost in an after-hours phone call. There are a number of ways to achieve fiscal solvency, she said, without taking it out of the hides of Social Security beneficiaries.
Schakowsky acknowledged that tough choices must be made to tame the country's soaring deficit.
Simpson and Bowles said their report was only intended to incite discussion, while Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R - Texas) called it intentionally "provocative."
"It's an impractical beginning," said Schakowsky of the Bowles-Simpson proposal, which would, among other things, raise the retirement age and result in higher taxes for millions of middle-class Americans.
While I think everyone on the commission agrees that we're on an unsustainable path, we cannot be putting the deficit or the debt on the backs of ordinary people, particularly senior citizens. When we started this commission we said nothing is going to be done to benefits for current beneficiaries.
Lo and behold, the proposal by the two co-chairs would lower the cost-of-living adjustment for all beneficiaries, something that would compound over the years to significantly lower the benefit for future beneficiaries. They're talking about raising the retirement age. None of the offsets they talk about would be helping lower income seniors. According to the experts, this proposal would put more elderly people into poverty, not fewer. And that is just a nonstarter.
Liberals have long complained that the commission is heavy on conservatives who are likely to favor large cuts to social programs. Simpson furthered that perception when, in an email sent to the executive director of National Older Women's League this summer, he infamously compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million tits."
That political makeup aside, the panel would need 14 of its 18 members to agree on a plan before it can receive an up or down vote from Congress.
Rightardia agrees with Rep. Schakowski. This report should have never seen the light of day. Workers contribute 6.2 per cent of their paychecks for 40 more years of their life to pay for Social Security. This 6.2 per cent is matched by the employer.
Social Security and Medicare part A is funded by the FICA payroll tax, which is a regressive tax that is capped at $102,00 and therefore has little impact on the most affluent Americans.
There is a welfare side of Social Security called
Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
For example, if you have not contributed to Social Security for 10 years (40 quarters), a claimant is not eligible for regular Social Security benefits. During the oil spill in the gulf, many fisherman were not able to file claims with BP because they had not been paying any income tax or payroll tax. These are the type of people who would be eligible for SSI when they reach age 65 besides the blind and the disabled.
When Simpson compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million tits" he suggested regular Social Security is a welfare program which it is not. Because the distribution of income has shifted greatly toward the affluent since the Reagan era, the Social Security cap should be eliminated and 100 per cent of all American's income should be flat taxed to pay for Social Security.
This change would have minimal effect of the middle class and shift some of the burden for Social Security to the affluent. This needs to be done because corporate pensions are a thing of the apst. Only 21 per cent of Americans enter retirement with a pension.
Many corporations have tried to sell the 401K and Roth IRAs as pension,but they were created by Congress as savings plans and the fess are unregulated. Many of the people who lost their jobs during the Bush recession, found that up to one third of their IRAs had been eaten up by management fees.
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The Republican plan for Social Security
In an interview with The Huffington Post on Wednesday night, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), one of 18 members of the commission, criticized what she described as a "right-leaning plan" from the panel's two co-chairmen, former Bill Clinton adviser Erskine Bowles and former senator Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.).
"As far as I'm concerned the proposal is dead on arrival and should be soundly rejected," Schakowsky told HuffPost in an after-hours phone call. There are a number of ways to achieve fiscal solvency, she said, without taking it out of the hides of Social Security beneficiaries.
Schakowsky acknowledged that tough choices must be made to tame the country's soaring deficit.
Simpson and Bowles said their report was only intended to incite discussion, while Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R - Texas) called it intentionally "provocative."
"It's an impractical beginning," said Schakowsky of the Bowles-Simpson proposal, which would, among other things, raise the retirement age and result in higher taxes for millions of middle-class Americans.
While I think everyone on the commission agrees that we're on an unsustainable path, we cannot be putting the deficit or the debt on the backs of ordinary people, particularly senior citizens. When we started this commission we said nothing is going to be done to benefits for current beneficiaries.
Lo and behold, the proposal by the two co-chairs would lower the cost-of-living adjustment for all beneficiaries, something that would compound over the years to significantly lower the benefit for future beneficiaries. They're talking about raising the retirement age. None of the offsets they talk about would be helping lower income seniors. According to the experts, this proposal would put more elderly people into poverty, not fewer. And that is just a nonstarter.
Liberals have long complained that the commission is heavy on conservatives who are likely to favor large cuts to social programs. Simpson furthered that perception when, in an email sent to the executive director of National Older Women's League this summer, he infamously compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million tits."
That political makeup aside, the panel would need 14 of its 18 members to agree on a plan before it can receive an up or down vote from Congress.
Rightardia agrees with Rep. Schakowski. This report should have never seen the light of day. Workers contribute 6.2 per cent of their paychecks for 40 more years of their life to pay for Social Security. This 6.2 per cent is matched by the employer.
Social Security and Medicare part A is funded by the FICA payroll tax, which is a regressive tax that is capped at $102,00 and therefore has little impact on the most affluent Americans.
There is a welfare side of Social Security called
Supplemental Security Income (SSI). For example, if you have not contributed to Social Security for 10 years (40 quarters), a claimant is not eligible for regular Social Security benefits. During the oil spill in the gulf, many fisherman were not able to file claims with BP because they had not been paying any income tax or payroll tax. These are the type of people who would be eligible for SSI when they reach age 65 besides the blind and the disabled.
When Simpson compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million tits" he suggested regular Social Security is a welfare program which it is not. Because the distribution of income has shifted greatly toward the affluent since the Reagan era, the Social Security cap should be eliminated and 100 per cent of all American's income should be flat taxed to pay for Social Security.
This change would have minimal effect of the middle class and shift some of the burden for Social Security to the affluent. This needs to be done because corporate pensions are a thing of the apst. Only 21 per cent of Americans enter retirement with a pension.
Many corporations have tried to sell the 401K and Roth IRAs as pension,but they were created by Congress as savings plans and the fess are unregulated. Many of the people who lost their jobs during the Bush recession, found that up to one third of their IRAs had been eaten up by management fees.
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