R i g h t a r d i a: Obama won't negotiate on cuts to Social Security

White House senior adviser David Plouffe confirmed Obama's opposition to drastic alterations to Social Security.

[A]s the President said in his State of the Union, he views Social Security primarily as an issue about shoring it up for the long term as opposed to a deficit issue.

And we talked a lot about this as far back as the campaign, but are very clear that if there are proposals out there that are acceptable, that don't reduce benefits, don't slash benefits, that don't affect current retirees, the President is open to proposals that would shore the system up in the long term.

Democrats working to protect current Social Security benefits fretting that the White House had left the door open to either cost of living adjustments or other benefit "tweaks."

Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee said:

Until now, Sen. Harry Reid was the top Democratic leader on the record saying that cuts to Social Security benefits were off the table in any form -- big or small, slash or tweak.

If Mr. Plouffe's words are true -- that the White House opposes all reductions in benefits for current beneficiaries and future ones alike -- it's huge news.

Such a position is overwhelmingly popular with Democratic, Independent, and Republican voters alike, and is the kind of boldness Democrats will need to show to win big in 2012."

Obama won't change Social Security unless he is re-elected

Obama has also stated he wouldn't make consider making changes to Social Security unless he was re-elected.

Rightardia doesn't think that Social security or Medicare have anything to do with the current financial crisis that was caused by Wall Street investment banks and deregulation.

The Canadian system is more generous than the US system

Do you think Social Security is gold plated? The Canadians actually have a more generous system than the one we have in the US.

The federal government revenues are primarily from income tax, not the FICA payroll tax that pays for Social Security and Medicare.

A corporate pension won't be there

Americans are in many respects corporate indentured servants until they are 62 and can qualify for Social Security. American Social Security provides retirement benefit to the 80 per cent of Americans who don't have corporate pensions.

Social Security is the only alternative for many Americans. If you don't trust your government, try saving a couple of million for your retirement!

The government can't go bankrupt, but a business can

As a collectivist government program, beneficiaries can be assured the government won't go bankrupt. Attempts to privatize similar programs in other countries have been failures and the retirees have seen their monthly checks substantially reduced when these programs were privatized.

Because we have a privatized medical care system in the US, we pay twice as much for medical care as other countries.This might give you an idea of what would happen to retirement pay checks if Social Security were privatized.

The 50:50 corporate policy

Many corporation have 50:50 policies. Once an employee reaches age 50 or makes $50k a year, they are on the chopping block. That is why few Americans get corporate pensions and also why a strong Social Security program is essential to all Americans, not just seniors.

The Nanny State is a conservative myth

The American Nanny State is a myth. If you are a single women who gets pregnant, you can get Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for a lifetime benefit of 60 months.

Unemployment Compensation is for 26 weeks and it provides short term benefits that keeps the recipient at the poverty level.

Social security and Medicare don't kick in the sixties, which is near the end of a person's productive working life. Most people in their sixties are fortunate if they have jobs and Social Security penalizes them if they make too much money.

Work for the man until you get sick or die

The Republican alternative is to work for the man until you get sick or die.

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