John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

If you are retired or thinking about how to live during retirement, you need to know about this. Tell your Congress member.

Last month, Donald Trump and Paul Ryan attempted to gut Medicare and Medicaid to give $1 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthy. Thanks to your resistance, that effort went down in flames. Now, rather than learning their lesson, Trump and Ryan are pivoting to an attempt to destroy Social Security to give tax breaks to the wealthy.

This plan is much more insidious than Trumpcare. The Associated Press reports that as part of Trump’s tax reform proposal, they are considering eliminating the FICA contributions that fund Social Security. Because only the first $127,200 of wages are taxed, Trump’s team are calling this a middle class tax cut. But destroying Social Security’s funding will hurt the very people Trump purports to help.

Sign the petition demanding that Donald Trump doesn’t raid Social Security’s dedicated funding stream to cut taxes for his wealthy friends.

It was reported over the weekend that a GOP lobbyist close to Trump is promoting the plan to completely eliminate Social Security payroll contributions without a firm plan to replace Social Security’s funding source.

Eliminating the payroll tax contributions is dangerous―Social Security has maintained its universal popularity over the past 81 years because everyone pays in, and everyone benefits. This dedicated funding stream also insulates Social Security from the annual appropriations process that Republicans use to squeeze other programs designed to help the middle class.

For decades, Republicans in Washington and Wall Street bankers have told us that Social Security is going broke―even though Social Security has a $2.8 trillion surplus and can pay out 100% of benefits for the next 17 years and over 75% of benefits owed after that.

But Republicans’ tax plans might be a self-fulfilling prophecy. By starving Social Security of its funding, they could finally receive their wish―replacing Social Security’s guaranteed benefit with unstable Wall Street retirement plans.

Demand Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington abandon their attempts to destroy Social Security. Sign the petition to protect Social Security’s funding today!

Together we must stay vigilant in our fight to protect and expand Social Security for current and future generations.

Thank you,

Michael Phelan
Social Security Works

Batman Loc: South-Central Texas

Are your friends/family proud of you when you post these kinds of deliberate lies? Shame!
Batman

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Which statements are untrue. Be specific, cite evidence.

FlyingTiger Loc: Tortola, BVI

Why do you post lie after lie? Practically every single word of this post is a lie. You are an incompetent fool.

FlyingTiger Loc: Tortola, BVI

You put up the post you simplistic fool. You prove it. You provide the source. "Some lobbyist" is not proof. Stupid. Prove what you are saying moron.

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

The issue of current funding and outflows to S.S. And Medicare/Medicaid is not rocket science...it's simple math put to a spreadsheet. Demographics, increasing average lifespans, increased populations, decreased median wages all contribute, but it is simple math. IF we could break away from Democrat-Republican politics and gridlock on this it could easily be solved.

The real question is why we think the retirement age should not increase for certain age levels......say, if your under 40 today your retirement age goes to 70, and if your under 18 it goes to 72?


As far as current financial status.....

From the 2013 Social Security's Office of the Chief Actuary report on the financial status of Social Security and Medicare:

"Neither Medicare nor Social Security can sustain projected long-run programs in full under currently scheduled financing, and legislative changes are necessary to avoid disruptive consequences for beneficiaries and taxpayers."

In the past, when inflows exceed outflows, the surplus was used to fund other government programs. However, beginning in 2010, deficits have been the rule. The deficits in the past few years were as follows: $49 billion in 2010; $45 billion in 2011; and $55 billion in 2012. The Trustees expect the deficit to average $75 billion each fiscal year from 2013 to 2018 before rising sharply. Congress must continue to issue more debt just to meet Social Security's current obligations. This is very significant as expenditures for Social Security and Medicare accounted for 38% of the federal budget in fiscal year 2012. The actuaries report goes on to say,

"Both programs (i.e.; Social Security and Medicare) will experience cost growth substantially in excess of GDP growth through the mid-2030s due to rapid population aging caused by the large baby-boom generation entering retirement and lower-birth-rate generations entering employment..."