Sanders Welcomes White House Decision to Protect Social Security

[ProSense]

Sanders Welcomes White House Decision to Protect Social Security

BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 20 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed a White House announcement that President Barack Obama will not call for cuts in Social Security benefits as part of a budget blueprint that he will submit to Congress on March 4.

“I applaud President Obama for his important decision to protect Social Security,” Sanders said. “With the middle class struggling and more people living in poverty than ever before, we cannot afford to make life even more difficult for seniors and some of the most vulnerable people in America. I look forward to working with the president to support the needs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor.”

Sanders is a member of the Senate Budget Committee and founder of the Senate’s Defending Social Security Caucus.

On Feb. 14, Sanders and 15 other senators sent a letter to the White House urging Obama to spare Social Security in the budget that he is preparing for the coming fiscal year. The letter emphasized that Social Security has not contributed to the deficit. In fact, the retirement system’s $2.7 trillion surplus can pay all benefits owed to every eligible American for the next 19 years.

One year ago, a cut in Social Security benefits was part of the budget blueprint that Obama sent to Congress. He proposed changing how the consumer price index is calculated to lower future cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients. Budget writers on Capitol Hill rejected the proposal.

To read the letter, click here.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-welcomes-white-house_decision-to-protect-social-security

[ProSense]

1. Here's the letter:

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/letter-on-social-security-medicare-and-medicaid-2014?inline=file

Dear President Obama:

We would like to thank you for all of the work you have done to improve the economy, create jobs, and reduce the deficit.

We have made significant progress since the Great Recession. Our economy has now created over 8 million jobs and had 47 consecutive months of job growth. Today, while the long-term unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since October of 2008. The $1.4 trillion federal deficit that you inherited has been cut by more than half—the largest reduction in the deficit in more than 50 years.

As you have acknowledged, much more work needs to be done and we are committed to working with you to build on this progress. We need to get more Americans back to work, create the millions of jobs that the American people need, increase the wages of American workers, protect the retirement benefits that our constituents have earned, and reduce the deficit in a fair way. The severe level of income and wealth inequality in America that you have been focusing on is an issue that must be addressed effectively. While those on the top have more than recovered from the worst recession since the Great Depression, tens of millions of Americans continue to lose ground economically.

Today, retirement insecurity is as high as it has ever been. Only one in five workers in the private sector has a defined benefit pension plan; half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings; and two-thirds of seniors rely on Social Security for a majority of their income.

Given this reality, we respectfully urge you not to propose cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits in your Fiscal Year 2015 budget.

In good times and bad, Social Security has succeeded in keeping millions of senior citizens, widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities out of extreme poverty. Before Social Security was developed, about half of our seniors lived in poverty; today senior poverty is down to 9.1 percent. Without Social Security, one-third of senior citizens would have virtually no earnings at all.

Social Security has not contributed one penny to the deficit. Social Security has a surplus of more than $2.7 trillion and can pay every single benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 19 years.

We are also opposed to shifting the cost of healthcare onto senior citizens, the poor, and the disabled by cutting Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As you know, half of all Medicare recipients make less than $22,000 per year, and typical senior citizens already pay more than 17 percent of their fixed incomes on healthcare.

Further, Medicaid is a vital lifeline for some 72 million Americans. Two-thirds of all Medicaid spending supports senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Cutting Medicaid would jeopardize the quality of health care, long-term services, and nursing home care for tens of millions of Americans. There are significant cost issues in America’s health care system that must be effectively addressed, but these challenges will not be remedied by benefit cuts to vulnerable Americans.

Mr. President: These are tough times for our country. With the middle class struggling and more people living in poverty than ever before, we urge you not to propose cuts in your budget to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits—cuts which would make life even more difficult for some of the most vulnerable people in America.

We look forward to working with you in support of the needs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor—and all working Americans.

[ProSense]

2. Kick! n/t

[SidDithers]

3. “I applaud President Obama for his important decision to protect Social Security,” Sanders said...

Sid

[cali]

4. bwahahahaha. prosense uses sanders like a shield in front of poor

misunderstood great liberal President.

[ProSense]

6. Wow, any praise for Obama gets under your skin, doesn't it?

Yikes.

[rhett o rick]

19. How is, "I applaud you for doing what you should have done." praise?

And your ridicule emoticon is childish.

[MineralMan]

7. And how do you use Sanders, cali?

You needn't answer.

[ProSense]

8. Here:

Federal Workers to Get a Minimum Wage Boost

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today praised President Barack Obama for signing an executive order raising the minimum wage for workers employed by federal contractors.

“President Obama is taking a very important first step by giving a raise to hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers for federal contractors,” said Sanders, who was invited to this afternoon’s White House signing ceremony. “The president’s action adds momentum to the push in Congress to raise the minimum wage for every worker in this country to at least $10.10 an hour,” Sanders added.

Sanders last Sept. 25 sent Obama a letter, signed by 14 other senators, urging the president to issue an executive order setting a minimum wage at $10.10 an hour for federal contractors.

“Taking this action would be one of the most concrete actions you could take to reduce income inequality, boost the economy and help working families pay their bills,” the senators wrote in the letter to Obama. “Profitable corporations that receive lucrative contracts from the federal government should pay all of their workers a decent wage,” the letter added.

Private companies that employ more than 2 million workers received $446 billion in federal contracts in 2012.

Obama announced in his State of the Union address last month that he would issue the executive order. He also has called on Congress to pass legislation to raise wages for all workers to $10.10.

Sanders is a cosponsor of the bill by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to raise the minimum wage. Senate Republicans have opposed the proposal. Not a single Republican on the Senate Budget Committee voted for a non-binding resolution offered by Sanders calling for an increase in the minimum wage.

To read Sanders’ letter to the president, click here.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/federal-workers-to-get-a-minimum-wage-boost

Of course, the statement doesn't mention that the executive order also includedisabled Americans for the first time in history: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024489919

[MineralMan]

5. Thank you, Mr. President!

I know why that was sort of on the table. The GOP didn't fall for it, though. It demonstrated their dedication to obstructivism.

But thanks for taking it off the table. It wasn't going to happen, anyhow.

[ProSense]

9. He's positioning Democrats to win in 2014

Increase minimum wage, protect Social Security, defend Obamacare (that's already hurting Mitch).

[MineralMan]

10. Well, I'll sure as Hell be out working to get Democrats

to the polls.

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

[FSogol]

11. K & R. n/t

[sheshe2]

12. Kick!

[ProSense]

13. Kick! n/t

[Coyotl]

14. K&R

[rhett o rick]

15. How sad that we have to thank a Democratic President for not cutting SS. nm

[ProSense]

16. Frankly,

"How sad that we have to thank a Democratic President for not cutting SS."

...it's a lot better to live with people who find sadness in no cuts than to have to live with those same people saying "I told you so."

Carter was the last Democratic President to lower Social Security benefits.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024536721

This time we dodged the cuts, either by a good strategy or Republicans' inflexibility.

[rhett o rick]

18. I dont like "I told you so's" one way or the other, and I've seen enough today.

I am happy that SS cuts wont be included this year. But the "I told you so's" dont get it. I feel it's my obligation to push my government representatives to support Social Security. Those that said it wasnt necessary may be right. That doesnt change the fact that I will still lobby my government representatives. I think those that get pleasure from the "I told you so's" are only here for the one upmanship and care little if our seniors get their SS cut.

Again, I think it's sad when we have to thank a Democratic president for not cutting SS. It shouldnt even be on the table.

[woo me with science]

17. +1 Sanders was disgusted that Obama ever put cuts on the table.

He spoke vehemently against them and has appealed publicly and specifically to Obama to stop the threats multiple times and as recently as this month.

Sanders to Obama: Don’t Cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2014/02/14-1

Remember his passionate, historic filibuster on corporate greed?

Obama never "protected" Social Security. He put it on the table himself and held it hostage deliberately, over and over again, in order to force the country to accept vicious austerity measures that they never would have accepted without the more draconian threat of SS cuts on the table.

The threats to Social Security were used to implement austerity.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4535966

What a typically slimy and dishonest Third Way tactic in this OP, to attempt to portray Sanders' words today as an endorsement of the despicable behavior of the President re: Social Security over the past five years.