I’d like to thank House Speaker and Trump Flunky Rep. Mike Johnson for handing Democratic candidates another perfect line of attack and ad fodder:
If ever there’s an issue to galvanize Baby Boomers and
Gen X, it’s a threat to Social Security and Medicare, and Speaker Johnson just
put it on the radar, front and center.
Know that by saying, “They
have to be adjusted and fixed,” he does NOT mean endowed with more funding;
he means cutting payments to us and raising/delaying the qualifying age.
Without intervention, given the next expected Cost of
Living Adjustment, Social Security is calculated to be solvent for only seven
more years. That should get the attention of everyone in their 50s, 60s, and
up, or in other words, a ton of highly likely voters.
Republicans cannot be counted on to help with this in any
fashion other than cutting payouts. They and the donors to whom they are
obligated are against any more money coming from the wealthy. Their only
solution is to cut the payments back to the public.
And this is coming at a time when inflation is soaring, and the cost of living is higher than ever, along with jobs being lost to AI
and a general downturn in domestic production. Millions of Americans count on
Social Security to keep their noses above water, even though they always say not
to rely solely on Social Security. But many never had the opportunity to work
for jobs offering pensions or 401 (k) participation. Many had health problems that
sucked up their money, or kids going to college, ongoing disabilities or
long-term under-employment.
The glaringly obvious solution is to raise the “cap” over which Social Security
taxes are no longer paid, which for 2026 is $184,500. That means that the country’s
million, billion, and trillionaires pay zero into Social Security after that
first $184.5k. That’s a lot of dough to leave on the table.
Add to this that there’s no valid reason the cap exists,
other than rich people want it that way so they can keep more money. Therefore,
the rest of us end up paying a much higher percentage of our income than these
rich bastards do. So they’ve done a good job of buying off one party
completely, and enough of the other party to keep the status quo.
No, I don’t have any proof of the latter, but keep in
mind that even when the Democrats had control of both Houses and the
Presidency, there was never a real attempt to fix Social Security by raising
revenue via any means. That tells me it hasn‘t been a Democratic priority for
anyone but Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and maybe a few others.
Depending on how much the cap changed, raising it on Elon
Musk alone could set up Social Security for decades or longer, and he would
still have billions left over to buy into and destroy the next tech company he fancies.
One action fixes the entire problem, benefits hundreds of
millions, and slightly inconveniences a couple of gazillionaires. It should
be a slam dunk.
The question is, will anyone in Congress seriously get on board, in numbers enough to get it done? I think that should be a question
put to every single Congressional candidate from now until it happens.
In every Q&A session, every town hall, every campaign
stop, every interview, someone needs to ask, “Why is it more important for the cap to stay in place, benefiting
millionaires, rather than changing it to benefit millions of average citizens?” Make them
explain why they’re not taking aggressive action to raise the cap. Have them
explain it like we’re five, and be ready to debunk the inevitable but
fallacious claims that the cap provides capital to create jobs and pay
increases. It doesn’t, or else we’d be flush with well-paying jobs right now.
No, they have to explain why the rich are getting the special treatment at the
expense of the rest of us, many of whom are barely clinging to keeping a roof
overhead and food in the fridge. Get their answers on the record and use them
to bombard the candidates with attack ads.
This needs to be made into a disqualifying position in
the next and every subsequent election, for everyone running, regardless of
party affiliation. No support for a cap raise, no vote for you.
We don’t have time left to screw around here. We can see the disaster coming, and the longer we wait, the harder and less effective any fix will be.
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