Republican terrorists’ attack Social Security

Republican terrorists’ attack Social Security

By Lynda Carson - January 9, 2015

Berkeley - During the first week of January 2015, Republicans’ took control of the House and Senate. On day one of taking control of Congress, in a cunning move revealing their hatred of the working class, elderly and disabled, extreme far-right Republicans’ voted to block a simple financial transfer of Social Security funds from the old-age program, to the disability program.

The disability program is projected to reach a shortfall in late 2016 because in earlier years too much money was placed into the old age program that should have went into the disability program. As a result, the money needs to be replaced. These are funds that are desperately needed to keep the disability program active to serve the needs of the working class who have already payed tens of millions of dollars into the system, but are now disabled for one reason or another.

In the Bay Area including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, Alameda County, Marin County and Contra Costa County there are thousands of working class disabled people with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) who are now being threatened with a 20% cut to their insurance plan as a direct result of the right-wing attack on Social Security. Additionally, there are hundreds of millions of people all across the nation who have payed into the Social Security program since it’s inception, and currently there are only around 11 to 12 million people being assisted by SSDI.

Redwood Gardens retirement home in Berkeley for the elderly and disabled provides housing to around 150 low-income households with many persons in their 80s who will be devastated by cuts to Social Security and the disability programs.

Also in Berkeley, the Center for Independent Living exists to assist many of the disabled who are now in wheel chairs and are threatened by the attack on Social Security. Additionally, seniors residing in their own homes are threatened, as well as those in old age homes, including the disabled in local public housing and affordable housing sites around the Bay Area. The massive attack on Social Security hurts the working class including anyone and everyone alive who has payed into the system that is not wealthy.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the normal transfer of Social Security funds from one program to another has taken place at least 11 times since 1968, and was such a standard procedure that it was done 4 times during the Reagan administration. Reagan was a right-wing fascist while in office as president, but compared to the American fascists taking control of the House and Senate during the first week of January, Reagan has been left far behind in the dust.

Right-Wing Fascists Blocking The Transfer Of Social Security Funds

At times since the inception of the Social Security program, funds are being shifted back and forth between the old-age program and the disability program when one program or the other is getting low on funds. This is how the system works, and the Republicans’ created a road block in the system in an attempt to gut the program, and pit the elderly against the disabled. The Republicans’ are falsely claiming there is massive fraud occurring in the disabled program, and just like their delusional claims that massive voting fraud exists, they do not have any proof of massive fraud occurring in the Social Security program. It is part of the never ending BIG LIE.

This organized effort to terrorize millions of people receiving disability insurance from their investment in the Social Security retirement and disability program will soon result in a 20% benefit cut to the disabled. That is unless members of the Senate at a future date can undo the damage and looming crisis the fascist Republicans’ have created. However this seems very unlikely because the right-wing fascists’ also took control the Senate during the first week of January.

According to reports, Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) who has received massive political contributions of well over $134,000 from a filthy rich supporter who wants to destroy Social Security, is taking credit for engineering the rule changes designed to undermine and attack Americas’ number one program that assists the elderly, widows, orphans, the poor and disabled. Even many retired members of the military depend on Social Security during retirement, and Rep. Tom Reed gave the visionary performance of a life time. Its easy to imagine him kicking the crutches out from under the disabled, while he pushes people in a wheel chair over a cliff or under the bus.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Reed has been gobbling up massive amounts of dirty campaign contributions from persons connected to vulture capitalist Paul Singer’s firm Elliott Management. A fierce critic of the federal government, Singer has been pushing for the destruction of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Singer is most notorious for waging his war on Argentina to force the nation to prioritize debt payments to Elliott Management over the needs of 41 million people depending on public expenditures to keep the economy going.

According to the Associated Press, Reed stated: “We need real reform,” and he further stated that his rules proposal is intended to force a reckoning over social insurance spending. Reed’s brutal attack on Social Security blocks the process to extend disability funding by 17 years while reducing old age retirement funding by only one year. He is sending a clear message that he hates the elderly and disabled. He is trying to sabotage and terminate the Social Security program.

The rule changes are right in line with the on-going propaganda of the ruling capitalists’ that have spent years trying to destroy Social Security by way of the demonization of the SSDI program. In their reporting the main stream media including 60 Minutes, NPR and Fox, have allowed right-wing extremist Republicans’ to get on the airwaves to repeatedly demonize the disabled as liars, cheats, and thieves who are out to beat the system.

In reality, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) exists for the working class population with the most severe disabilities and conditions. They are put through a very rigorous testing system by teams of doctors and practitioners to make certain that they are not faking their conditions as the fascist Republicans’ and their capitalist masters want the public to believe.

To receive disability insurance, the working class is required to work at least one-fourth of their adult lifetime including at least 5 of the 10 years before they became disabled. For those receiving SSI, they lack sufficient work history to receive SSDI and have a very extreme low-income.

Any and all attacks on Social Security and programs for the disabled by the American fascists’ in the House and Senate are an attack on the working class, women, children, fathers, mothers and our grandparents.

Senator Bernie Sanders (Iowa) has vowed to resist cuts to Social Security, which is much more promising than what President Obama has to say. Obama has repeatedly stated that he is ready and willing to make deals with Republicans’ to allow more tax breaks for the rich. Additionally, Obama has not objected to past proposals that would result in much fewer dollars for Social Security retirees even though they would be devastated by the cuts being proposed for the program.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com