Trump New Lie & Scheme: "Only I (not DEMS) Can Save Social Security & Medicare"

Where the best plans, ideas, schemes, things are 

believe me, the best ever

Like this scheme to help people get educated 

and make millions, right

1st update that I call: “Any GOP-run government is phonier than a $3 dollar bill.”

Updated from The Hill – short intro with these highlights:

Trump always shows an uncanny ability to “project issues onto his perceived foes” — ascribing to them his own troublesome actions, especially when he tries to deflect bad news. 

That’s exactly what he did at a political rally in Montana (noted in the post that follows) amidst a firestorm of White House controversies, unleashing a whopper about Americans’ earned benefits, saying in part: “The Democrats are going to hurt your Social Security so badly, and they are killing you on Medicare. I am going to protect your Social Security.” 

Just a few days before that Montana rally, he told reporters: “The Democrats wants to destroy Medicare. And we will save it.”

These are classic examples of Trumpian projection because the exact opposite of what the president said is 99.9999% true.

Far from “protecting” Social Security and Medicare, President Trump and Republicans in Congress have been actively working to undermine them. In fact, GOP Congressional leaders promised to “reform” (which really means “cut”) Social Security and Medicare to help pay for trillions of dollars in Trump tax cuts benefiting the wealthy and big corporations. As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman pointed out, House Budget Committee chairman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) recently declared that: “The federal government needs to save money by cutting spending on social programs. When pressed about whether that included Social Security and Medicare, he admitted that it did.”

The majority party is already hard at work on those cuts. Republicans have released a plan that would raise the Social Security retirement age to 70 and impose stingier cost-of-living adjustments — meaning massive benefit cuts for America’s seniors. 

The president’s 2019 budget slashes Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits by a staggering $64 billion over ten years. His budget director once disingenuously claimed that SSDI is not part of Social Security even though the words “Social Security” are in its name. 

The president and his party’s efforts to cut Medicare are just as glaring. House Republicans propose to axe $537 billion over the next decade from the program that provides health coverage to nearly 60 million older and disabled Americans. And since when does “saving” Medicare mean privatizing it? 

The 2019 GOP budget proposals would convert Medicare into a voucher program (Speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI, and his fav pitch for a very long time) which would make it harder for seniors to choose their own doctors, and eventually end traditional Medicare. (Recall that former Speaker Newt Gingrich famously gloated that traditional Medicare would “wither on the vine” if privatized). 

More of the GOP-led BS about “saving Social Security and Medicare” from Trump in recent remarks in a speech in Montana from Roll Call:

TRUMP: “We're saving Social Security. The Democrats will destroy Social Security. We're saving Medicare. The Democrats want to destroy Medicare. We will keep it going. We're making it stronger. We're making Social Security stronger.”

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The original post starts from here: 

More on this topic from the AP, but first this classic and  historical record reminder from GOP showing their resistance to Social Security with this question: “How come if Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” or “a monstrous lie” that so many in the GOP over the years have labeled it in September 1936 from GOP presidential candidate, Alf Landon, in his infamous presidential speech titled: “I will not promise you the Moon” – was a hoax, yet it is still alive and fairly well after helping hundreds of millions of Americans?

The essence of that Landon speech here from History Matters:

“I Will Not Promise the Moon” – Alf Landon Opposes the Social Security Act, 1936

By Alf Landon

The U.S. Congress enacted the Social Security Act, originally called the “Economic Security Bill,” in August of 1935. The Act was aimed at giving older Americans a pension that would provide them with a reasonable standard of living as they aged. The Social Security Act was politically moderate. The agency created to administer these benefits was to be funded by both employees and their employers, as opposed to using funds collected from general tax money. Still, it represented a milestone in moving this country toward a modern welfare state; as a result of this legislation, the United States joined other industrialized nations in offering old-age pensions and unemployment compensation. Several groups offered a spirited resistance to the program. Alf Landon, the Republican candidate for President in 1936, offered strong opposition to Social Security based on its burden on employers and employees as well as the possibility that the money coming into the Treasury would not be put away for later liabilities.

Also, reflect back to March 2012 and this GOP ploy during the 2012 presidential race. Hey, folks, we can’t escape history just like Mr. and Mr. Gee Old Poops try every single day – to wit: from the history books with his headline:

“Cue the Ads: GOP Votes to Privatize Medicare in Election Year”

More background: If all that GOP BS were true, then how come SS today is over 80 years of age, still helps hundreds of millions of seniors and in essence keeps them out of poverty or the poor house? It seems like no Republicans have or use or need SS, and I guess neither do their senior relatives. 

Need I remind anyone that Social Security is program that all working Americans pay into from their productive working lives and part goes to Medicare, too. It is a great way to save then to benefit from in their sunset Golden years. But somehow when we hear the GOP we only hear how bad it is, how terrible and awful and now it’s going broke or worse as Landon said; “A hoax and Ponzi scheme.”

And, the GOP is full of schemes like remember a few years ago when they advocated handing it over to Wall Street to fix and save it? Wall Street bankers and brokers and private account managers and brokers would manage and make better to ensure permanent security.

Okay, so how effectively would that scheme have worked with Wall Street managing it say back in starting in the 2007-2008 time frame? Oh, that time frame – flashback with me, okay.

Would we simply say that the massive billions lost back was merely a Rick “Oops” Perry moment?  Hardly – so why are we about to see another GOP “reform and save” scheme that the one I’m about to show you on the front pages. 

Let’s face it, the GOP has a small vocabulary: Words like “trickle down, or reform government, let businesses run things, or cap and save, or help those in need by cutting taxes for the top crust – will create jobs (e.g., yep, breaks for the top but cut food stamps for the bottom), etc. Then in the end all along they will say in floor speeches: “See how we are serve the American people.” You want a hoax – well that’s as big as it gets.

Since I have your attention, now the lifetime award for the crap trap machine since 1935 goes to – the “The envelope, please.”  The winners every year since 1935 is the Grand Old Phonies (GOP).

Now that older story about their stunt and believe me, it was a big one that was reported on here from the LA Times and others sites. Most had this eye-popping headline:

“The GOP unveils a “permanent save” for Social Security – with massive benefit cuts”

• Don’t trust me, okay, fair enough – how about breaking out your trusty old calculator and stay close with me on this, okay?

Right off the bat, those calculators and GOP will tell you and promise you: “... invest your income in private social security saving accounts and when you retire, just sit back and live off $10,000 a month until the day you die. Wall Street investors will do that for you.”

We all know that right wing Market-driven GOP line, right? But, what’s wrong with that picture?

1.  They assume that all of your Social Security taxes would be invested. That is totally impossible.
2.  Their calculators ignore the turbulence and fluctuations (2008 comes to mind real fast right until today or last month all along Wall Street).
3.  They mechanically imply that every investor does very well – a lot like those who bilked the Mutual Fund accounts over time - remember all those FBI perp walks?

Plus, they make questionable assumptions that the high past growth rates of stock prices (prior to any 2008-type crash and burn that is). That is wherein any of the increased value would go directly to stockholders (as well as your SS account).

But, as anyone who invests in a mutual fund knows, or should know, those commissions, the slick marketing, and growing administrative costs significantly reduce what ends up in your bank account at the end of the month. Why is that?

Those in charge subtract and rake off all the thousands of dollars from your “profits” into “their profits” (Translation: Into their nest eggs, not yours). Keep in mind THAT DOES NOT happen now with social security. It may not show big earnings like a stable stock, but it has there, a reliable safety net for seniors and others entitled to SS for over 80 years.

It is a program you and I paid into for all our working lives (as for me, I did for 59 years of my earned income working years – how about you).  

Also, ask Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, and accountants like Arthur Andersen where did their investors' security go? Oh, that money? Um... so the brokerage houses, banks, and mutual funds have been very active in the campaign to privatize Social Security. I see, I see – another “oops” moment.

However, they did stand to have gained enormous fees if the billions of dollars had been shifted each year from Social Security payments into some weird account under some Wall Street broker’s management. Of course, those fees must come from somewhere, namely from the balances in individual accounts. 

Ouch – namely your pocket – so dig deeper.  Thus, it is no wonder that kind of thinking in the GOP is so popular and has been since 1936 as they say: “… just put us in office, give us your money, and we'll make you rich and secure in your retirement.” Final “oops” moment, boys, sorry.

My 2 cents: The bottom line is that the GOP has hated the “social” part of Social Security and the “security” part of Medicare & Medicaid for decades, and they have the record and words to prove – not too many positive deeds, just loads of promises and fancy words and nastiness aimed at those working hard to save those programs and sustain them.

All the above for the record Mr. Trump. Thought you ought to know since you obviously do not.

Finally, one thing we can take to the bank and be almost 100% sure of is that when Trump says something that the exact opposite is true nearly in every case and sentence… believe it (smile).

Thanks for stopping by.