House Republicans hate Social Security
House Republicans are in a heated debate over entitlement spending: Will they hold the debt ceiling hostage so they can cut Social Security and Medicare, or are they going to lie to the public about their plan to cut Social Security and Medicare?
Rep. Chip Roy from Texas, one of the far-right hardliners who extracted a pound of flesh from silent Speaker Kevin McCarthy, insists that entitlements are safe. He told rightwing radio host Jesse Kelly, “It took approximately two seconds for everyone to be saying, ‘You’re gonna slaughter defense … You’re gonna hurt Social Security and Medicare.’ Everybody calm down!”
Yes, please, we should all just relax. Republicans might demand a gazillion dollars in cuts, but they’ll probably trim the fat from trillions in mandatory drag queen story hour spending. Sunday, on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Roy said, “What we have been very clear about is, we’re not going to touch the benefits that are going to people relying on the benefits under Social Security and Medicare.” So there.
However, Rep. Michael Waltz from Florida told Fox Business that while Republicans will cut out all the military’s woke pronoun training, any major cuts to defense spending are unacceptable. “If we really want to talk about the debt and spending,” he said, “it’s the entitlement programs.”
Last October, McCarthy said he wouldn’t “predetermine” whether debt ceiling negotiations would include cuts to Medicare and Social Security. More Americans should’ve “predetermined” that voting for Republicans was a bad idea. They can’t resist going after entitlements and the social safety net.
Ronald Reagan considered Medicare “socialized medicine,” which I guess it technically is. That’s not a bad thing! Newt Gingrich told a Blue Cross/Blue Shield conference in 1995 that he hoped Medicare would “wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it — voluntarily.” (He had experience leaving things that were dying.)
George W. Bush was eager to privatize Social Security during his second term. Paul Ryan was still hot for privatization even after the 2008 financial crisis, so he was either stupider or just plain more evil than Bush. It’s as if they want to see old people sleeping on their grandkids’ futons Willy Wonka-style.
The progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted Sunday, “Republicans want you to work until you die. Shameful.”
But what if working yourself into the grave is the true benefit? Republicans often propose “raising the age of retirement” instead of just openly gutting Social Security, though it’s mostly the same thing. Republican Rep. Rick Allen of Georgia told a staffer at Social Security Works last week, “People come up to me, they actually want to work longer.” This is a very real conversation he’s definitely had with actual people.
“Well, you know, if people want to work longer, maybe you need to give them incentive to do it. That’s the way to solve every one of these problems, by the way, and actually grow wealth at the same time.” Allen then pointed to his own stupid head and said, “It just takes that right there.”
The congressman from Georgia should know all about a privileged few growing wealth at the expense of a segment of the population working until they keel over. This is truly the American way.
[The Hill]
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