Bernie Sanders Destroys Republican scheme to eliminate Social Security - Brian Tyler Cohen

[TexasTowelie]

Brian interviews Senator Bernie Sanders about how to protect Social Security, his response to Republican fear mongering about the “army of 87,000 IRS agents,” and how to get the government to keep prescription drug prices down.

[peppertree]

1. They were always against it - and so is Wall Street

You mentioned Argentina in an earlier post, and they have the same problem down there with these pro-casino capitalism right-wingers.

Indeed, they're in the trouble in the right now (though they're managing) because one such character - Trump's pal Macri - provoked a Bush-style debt bubble crisis back in 2018.

$100+ billion in added foreign debt debt was taken on, mostly to finance speculators who dollarized and offshored their local assets.

Not too different from what equity funds like Romney's often do to the firms they buy: load them with debt; pocket most of the borrowed proceeds; and then leave the firm holding the bag.

The Brit in the video failed to mention that little part.

The difference, of course, is that Argentina had no Fed to bail it out with $20 trillion printed out of thin air (and thank goodness we did!).

As for Macri - who, btw, is in constant contact with the GOP, mainly through Rubio - he's trying to weasel his way back into the Casa Rosada. And as his Repug handlers advised, he's pulling no punches this time: a sharp, right wing turn at full speed - including privatizing their social security (ANSES).

And many seniors would vote for him! Why? Because "I remember when you could walk down the street, and almost everyone was white."

Macri represents those halcyon days for them - and has dog-whistled racism more than enough to earn their vote, almost no matter what else.

But if they think their $300 pensions are paltry now (plus they get free/discounted Rx), they ain't seen nothin'.

The same goes for U.S. seniors, and their $1,500 social security checks and Medicare: it may not sound lie much - but just wait until these Repugs get their way. It'll be 'brother can you spare a dime'.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Thanks for the detailed explanation

[peppertree]

3. You're very welcome. A cautionary tale, certainly.

The Romney-style "debt bicycle" aspect to the Argentine crisis is almost always left out of these analyses - as well as from the numerous "why Argentina failed" videos on YouTube.

It happened under the dictatorship in '81, under that moron de la Rúa in '01, and then again under Macri in '18.

It's like blaming a family's failure on the fact the family bought a car or took a vacation they shouldn't - while ignoring the fact that grandpa gambled everything away, even leaving massive equity loan debt behind (taken on to pay for the gambling).

When you read that Argentine elites hold up to $400 billion overseas - a lot of that was paid for with foreign debts taken on just before each of those three crises.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Thanks! And I have to give Senator Sanders for how hard he's been working on this issue

I really don't get it, aren't all members of Congress elected to pass measures that make life better for their constituents and the American people?? What I see from current Republicans appears to be just the opposite! How they get any votes from their constituents is a complete mystery to me - or don't these folks follow any news??

[peppertree]

5. Your guess is as good as mine - but hate sells

You cater to people's pet hatreds - and you've got'em for life!

(childish people anyway)

Bernie's one of the few politicians on the left that I've seen that can cut through some of that: he gets his socio-economic message through to them (slightly), even though they know he doesn't share their bigotry.

Sadly, it doesn't seem to be enough to really swing elections. To many RW seniors, they'll only really get it when they lose their Social Security and Medicare.

By then, of course, it'll be too late - for them, and everyone else who depends on (or at least benefits from) those life-saving programs.