Politics

New Book Provides More Evidence That GOP Leaders Plan to Privatize and Cut Social Security

By Karina

Last night, Roll Call reported that a new book by House Republican leaders Eric Cantor (R-VA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), includes the Ryan budget proposal to drastically privatize and cut Social Security and turn Medicare into a voucher system. This is more evidence that Congressional Republicans will jeopardize the retirement security for millions of American workers and their families:

In a new book to be released next month, three House Republican leaders include many of the policies and ideas that some in their party have promoted over the last year, as well as a controversial plan to drastically cut the country?s entitlement spending.

? Ryan?s proposal, which looks to balance the budget through slimmer versions of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the tax code, has vexed many Republicans who have attacked Democrats over the federal debt but who don?t want to say they would favor cutting entitlement programs.

Last month, House Republican Leader John Boehner “pointed to $1.3 trillion in potential cuts outlined by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as ‘a pretty good list of options.’” Most of the cuts in the Ryan-GOP plan come from privatizing Social Security and ending Medicare as we know it?the Washington Post explains:

Some GOP lawmakers also have endorsed Ryan’s alternative budget plan, which would wipe out deficits in part by privatizing Social Security and replacing traditional Medicare benefits with an insurance voucher for people age 55 and older.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzed the Ryan-GOP plan concluding:

Traditional retirement benefits would be reduced below those scheduled under current law for many workers who are age 55 or younger in 2011?A system of individual accounts would be established in 2012. In that year, workers who are age 55 or younger would be able to participate in voluntary individual accounts, funded with a portion of their payroll taxes.

Democrats remain committed to protecting Social Security and the bedrock promise to America?s seniors of retirement and economic stability after a lifetime of hard work paying into Social Security. We will not go back to the failed policies of the Bush-Republican era when seniors and working Americans had to fight Republican efforts to dismantle Social Security time and again.

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 31, 2010 (boomark / email).