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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Entries Tagged as 'Social Security'

Obama’s deficit commission proposing to reduce the annual cost-of-living increases in Social Security.

November 10th, 2010 · Deception, Greed, Non-Transparency, Obama Nominees, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security

By ANDREW TAYLOR – The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 10, 2010; 1:24 PM

WASHINGTON — Leaders of President Barack Obama‘s bipartisan deficit commission on Wednesday proposed reducing the annual cost-of-living increases in Social Security, part of a bold plan to control $1 trillion-plus budget deficits.

The proposal also would set a tough target for curbing the growth of Medicare and recommends looking at eliminating popular tax breaks, such as mortgage interest deduction.

As proposed, the plan by Chairman Erskine Bowles and former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., doesn’t look like it can win support from 14 of the commission’s 18 members to force a debate in Congress. Bowles is a Democrat and was former President Bill Clinton‘s White House chief of staff.

Cuts to Social Security and Medicare are making some liberals on the panel recoil. And conservative Republicans are having difficulty with options on how to raise tax revenue. The plan also calls for cuts in farm subsidies, foreign aid and the Pentagon’s budget.

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Fate of tax cuts is key issue as Congress returns

September 14th, 2010 · Accountability, Change of Power, Federal Spending, Government Control, Non-Transparency, Politics, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, War on Terrorism

By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery – Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 13, 2010; 8:02 AM

Congress is returning for a final pre-election legislative session on Monday to confront the thorny issue of potentially raising taxes during an economic downturn, with neither party showing clear consensus on a solution.

The main order of business in the coming weeks will be debating the fate of income tax cuts approved under the George W. Bush administration in 2001 and 2003 that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) surprised Democrats on Sunday when he said he might not oppose President Obama‘s plan to extend the cuts for all but the wealthiest households, although he reiterated his preference for keeping the lower rates in place for all income groups.

Boehner’s comments, made on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” altered the landscape of the tax debate by suggesting that Republicans might not obstruct Democratic efforts to raise taxes on the top earners – a move advocated by Obama and many other Democrats as necessary to lowering the record deficit.

But the leader’s assertion also makes the Republican position on the issue all the murkier. Numerous GOP lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), have been unyielding in their demand that all cuts be extended.

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Summer of Economic Discontent

September 2nd, 2010 · Change of Power, Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Economy, Ethics, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Government, Greed, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Unemployment

The administration’s ‘summer of recovery’ has fizzled in almost every way imaginable. The growth rate is less than half what it was at this stage after the 1974-75 and 1981-82 recessions.

By Michael Boskin

The Obama administration’s “summer of recovery” has morphed into a summer of economic discontent amid anxiety over the weakening economy. The greater than 4% growth and less than 8% unemployment envisioned by the president’s economic team are nowhere to be seen. Almost everything that is supposed to be up—the economic growth rate, the stock market, bond yields—is down. And almost everything that is supposed to be down—unemployment-insurance claims, new mortgage delinquencies—is up.

Sometimes a weak early recovery gathers strength after a year or so, as in 2003 when the second round of the Bush tax cuts helped double growth to 3.8% from 1.9%. But there are serious headwinds to stronger growth: household deleveraging, unresolved toxic assets, and most government economic policies headed in the wrong direction. While the base case outlook is still slow recovery, a double-dip recession or a Japanese-style lost decade is more plausible than a few months ago. This explains why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke felt compelled last week to reiterate that the Fed will use more of its (in my view, weak) ammunition should the economy falter further.

How bad is it? In the data for the last few weeks and months, real personal disposable income was flat; core capital goods orders, a precursor of business capital spending, declined 8%; new home sales fell 12.4%, existing sales 27%, despite record low mortgage rates; single-family housing starts declined 4.2%; building permits, foreshadowing future construction, fell 1.2%; initial jobless claims spiked to over 500,000, leading forecasters to expect at best meager short-term private-sector job growth; the Kansas City, Philadelphia and New York Fed manufacturing indexes fell; and the trade deficit increased, as exports fell and imports rose.

These weak backward-looking data were accompanied by big downdrafts in forward-looking financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq over 6% in August—partly retraced yesterday—and the 10-year U.S. bond yield, at 2.47%, was back to its lows of March 2009. Real GDP growth slowed from 3.7% in the first quarter to just 1.6% last quarter.

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Obama and the Democrat’s Social Security Bait and Switch

August 31st, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Economy, Ethics, Federal Spending, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Unemployment

Associated Press

‘Harry, am I making this up?’ Yes, Mr. President, you are.

Democrats are trying to keep control of Congress by scaring the wig off grandma with a phantom GOP plot against Social Security. That is not news. Social Security scare tactics have been regular campaign themes since FDR. President Obama’s unique contribution is to do this even as he’s begging Republicans to help him reduce the deficit and reform entitlement spending.

On the one hand, Mr. Obama has charged his deficit commission with crafting a bipartisan plan to restrain entitlements. “Everything’s on the table. That’s how this thing’s going to work,” he said when he created the commission in February. “We now have to, in a gradual way, reduce spending, particularly on those big ticket items” like Social Security, he later added in Racine, Wisconsin. “That’s going to be our project for the next couple years.”

Yet even as Mr. Obama beseeches Republicans, he and his political allies are playing the Social Security card for all it’s worth in this campaign season. This has all the earmarks of a political bait and switch designed to ambush Republicans if they’re gullible enough to believe his bipartisan pleas.

Mr. Obama personally teed up the campaign theme earlier this month when he celebrated Social Security’s 75th anniversary by claiming that “privatizing Social Security” is “a key part” of the Republican “legislative agenda if they win a majority in Congress this fall.” He went on to say that this plan, which does not in fact exist, is “wrong for America” and “I’ll fight with everything I’ve got to stop those who would gamble your Social Security on Wall Street. Because you shouldn’t be worried that a sudden downturn in the stock market will put all you’ve worked so hard for—all you’ve earned—at risk.”

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Keeping tax cuts beneficial in short term, harmful over long term, CBO says

August 23rd, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Economy, Federal Spending, Government, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes

By Brady Dennis Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 20, 2010

The director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday that permanently extending tax cuts put in place under President George W. Bush would provide a “considerable” economic boost over the next several years but would result in substantial increases in the federal deficit, placing the country in a precarious fiscal situation by 2020.

In offering this assessment, Douglas Elmendorf underscored the difficult choice facing lawmakers as they debate whether to extend any or all of the tax breaks, which are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

The CBO’s analysis was part of a broader report released Thursday in which the agency projected that the federal government’s budget deficit for this year would be $1.34 trillion. The figure is slightly below last year’s total, but the CBO warned that policymakers face “daunting” challenges in the years ahead in trying to return the country to fiscal sustainability.

Concerns about the federal deficit have been figuring prominently in congressional debates over whether to spend more money on programs to stimulate the economy and to help the unemployed, as well as over the Bush-era tax cuts.

The CBO examined the impact if most of those cuts are extended. This scenario assumed that the breaks for higher-income taxpayers would expire.

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Obama buys 2.5 Million Votes by passing Unemployment Benefits Extension

July 22nd, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Economy, Ethics, Federal Spending, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Terrorist Attack, Unemployment

Obama signs bill to restore jobless aid for millions by taking from the working class.

By Lori Montgomery Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 22, 2010; 5:59 PM

President Obama on Thursday signed a six-month extension of emergency jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, hours after the House approved the measure on a vote of 272 to 152.

The bill will revive a program that provides income support to those who have exhausted state benefits, restoring aid to nearly 3 million people who have seen their checks cut off since the program expired June 2. It would provide a total of up to 99 weeks of support, including the state aid. Advocates for the unemployed said checks in some states are likely to go out quickly; in others, people can expect a delay of several weeks.

With unemployment at 9.5 percent, both parties agreed that aid should be extended to people who have lost their jobs. But until the Senate passed it on Wednesday, the legislation was mired for months in an increasingly bitter election-year battle over whether the government should add to an already bloated national debt to bolster the sluggish economic recovery.

Republicans said no, saying that the nation should pay for the $34 billion extension with unexpended funds from last year’s economic stimulus package.

“I haven’t heard anybody say we shouldn’t be extending unemployment benefits. The difference is one side wants to borrow 34 cents on the dollar, mainly from the Chinese, and send the bill to our children and our grandchildren,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.).

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Confidence in Obama reaches new low, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds

July 13th, 2010 · Accountability, Change of Power, Congress, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Government, Government Control, Homeland Security, National Security, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed, Reform, Social Security, Stimulus, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Unemployment, War on Terrorism

By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Public confidence in President Obama has hit a new low, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Four months before midterm elections that will define the second half of his term, nearly six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country, and a clear majority once again disapproves of how he is dealing with the economy.

Regard for Obama is still higher than it is for members of Congress, but the gap has narrowed. About seven in 10 registered voters say they lack confidence in Democratic lawmakers and a similar proportion say so of Republican lawmakers.

Overall, more than a third of voters polled — 36 percent — say they have no confidence or only some confidence in the president, congressional Democrats and congressional Republicans. Among independents, this disillusionment is higher still. About two-thirds of all voters say they are dissatisfied with or angry about the way the federal government is working.

Such broad negative sentiments have spurred a potent anti-incumbent mood. Just 26 percent of registered voters say they are inclined to support their representative in the House this fall; 62 percent are inclined to look for someone new.

Democrats nationally remain on the defensive as they seek to retain both houses of Congress this fall. Registered voters are closely divided on the question of whether they will back Republicans or Democrats in House races. Among those who say they are sure to cast ballots in November, 49 percent side with the GOP and 45 percent with Democrats.

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Business’ given Green Light to terminate current employees and hire new ones to gain tax credits.

March 17th, 2010 · Accountability, Congress, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treason, Unemployment

Senate clears jobs bill for Obama’s desk

Updated 11:29 a.m.  By Ben Pershing

The Senate cleared an $18 billion jobs bill for President Obama’s signature Wednesday, a down payment on what Democrats hope will be a significant election-year investment in boosting the economy.

The measure passed 68-29, with 11 Republicans joining all but one Democrat present — Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) — in support. The bill had already passed the Senate once but the House tweaked it, requiring the second Senate vote before it could go to the White House. President Obama has praised the legislation in the past and plans to sign it.

Though relatively small compared to last year’s economic stimulus package, the measure represents the first clear legislative shot in months aimed squarely at persistent unemployment, and a rare bipartistan achievement from a Congress plagued by partisan squabbling. After getting bogged down in the health-care debate, Democrats are eager to pivot to the economy, which polls regularly identify as Americans’ most pressing concern.

“The beauty of this bill: It’s simple, it’s focused on private-sector job growth and it’s paid-for,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a co-author of the measure. “It’s modest, but … it’s almost a legislative dream.”

The centerpiece of the bill is a new program giving companies a break from paying Social Security taxes for the remainder of 2010 on any new workers they hire who had been unemployed for at least 60 days. Employers would also get a $1,000 tax credit for each of those workers who stays on the payroll for at least one year.

Aside from that program, the measure includes a one-year extension of the law governing federal transportation funding, and would transfer $20 billion into the highway trust fund. The bill also extends a tax break allowing companies to write off equipment purchases, and expands the Build America Bonds program, which helps state and local governments secure financing for infrastructure projects.

Some critics have questioned whether the package approved Wednesday is big enough to make a dent in the nation’s persistent unemployment problem, arguing that the new payroll tax break is unlikely to spur much new hiring that wouldn’t have otherwise occurred.

Separately, many Republicans suggest the bill uses accounting sleight of hand to make the measure appear budget-neutral.

“This isn’t so much a jobs bill as it is a debt bill,” complained Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).

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Stagnant Prices Prevent Social Security Increase

October 15th, 2009 · Deception, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Social Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treasury

Obama Endorses $250 Emergency Payments

By Amy Goldstein and Neil Irwin Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 15, 2009

President Obama on Wednesday attempted to preempt the announcement that Social Security recipients will not get an increase in their benefit checks for the first time in three decades, encouraging Congress to provide a one-time payment of $250 to help seniors and disabled Americans weather the recession.

Obama endorsed the idea, which is expected to cost at least $13 billion, as the administration gropes for ways to sustain an apparent economic rebound without the kind of massive spending package that critics could label a second stimulus act

The administration is already developing plans to direct billions of dollars in federal money to small businesses through community banks, government sources said Wednesday. That would probably include funds originally targeted to help bail out huge corporations. Obama aides are also attempting to extend programs to make loans from the Small Business Administration cheaper and easier to obtain.

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