JustCare

In the hands of Republicans, Social Security is at serious risk

Written by

Diane Archer

in

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The Trump administration launched a major attack on Social Security, putting some older adults and people with disabilities at extreme risk. The Washington Post reports on how attorneys at Social Security imposed excessive fines on scores of Social Security recipients who received benefits inappropriately. Now, in an op-ed for The Miami Herald, Max Richtman, the head of the National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare, writes about how Senator Rick Scott of Florida wants to privatize Social Security, effectively putting Social Security benefits at risk and undermining the ability of tens of millions of vulnerable Americans to afford basic necessities.

Because Social Security is a national treasure, beloved by Republicans and Democrats alike, Senator Scott is not outright speaking about doing away with Social Security or Medicare. But, Scott’s proposal to require Congressional reauthorization of federal programs every five years would allow for just that. He would require Congress to re-enact Medicare and Social Security every five years to continue them. Since Senator Scott now chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his proposals are likely to have a lot of influence in Congress, especially if Republicans regain control of the House and Senate.

Some years ago, Senator Scott proposed privatizing Social Security. If Congress privatized Social Security, it would put people’s benefits at serious risk, open to the vicissitudes of the market. Richtman projects that as many as one in three older adults could be impoverished. Moreover, without Social Security and Medicare, local governments and businesses would lose significant revenue.

Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits. Voters should beware of any proposals that would remove Social Security’s critical guarantees, cut their benefits, or otherwise make it harder to be assured of a regular income stream and health insurance.

So far, Republicans have not been successful at privatizing or otherwise cutting Social Security. But, here’s a taste of what the Trump administration did to undermine Social Security:

Trump’s Social Security agency imposed excessively harsh penalties on vulnerable older adults as part of its anti-fraud program. The Biden administration’s acting Social Security commissioner is now investigating those acts. And, Democrats in Congress are seeking an investigation into this possible abuse of authority. They want to prevent future behavior of this sort and help the people who were harshly penalized.

What did the Trump administration do exactly? It imposed huge fines on scores of poor older adults and people with disabilities who received Social Security benefits improperly. The penalties appear to be an abuse of the administration’s authority.

The attorneys working in the Social Security Administration in 2018, when Trump was president, did not follow standard protocols for recouping funds inappropriately paid to Social Security enrollees. In determining penalties for fraud, they should have looked at individuals’ income. Instead, they charged these individuals more than twice what they inappropriately received in Social Security benefits.

Here’s more from Just Care:

Comments

One response to “In the hands of Republicans, Social Security is at serious risk”

  1. BC Shelby Avatar
    BC Shelby

    …another move T**** did was to reduce administrative funding which left the agency short staffed. this resulted in long waits on hold when calling the SSA, often in excess of 45 min to over an hour (I once spent over 90 min on hold). Many seniors (self included) are on limited minutes phone plans so this cost ut even more. Another service this hurt was filing disability claims extending the process for many years due to case backlogs.

    Privatisation has always been a threat and the thought of turning a programme we pay into during our working years though payroll deductions into little more than a “glorified 401k” is most disturbing. Not knowing form month to month what your benefit will makes budgeting even more difficult. than it already is. Now Scott wants to sunset it every five years. Should that actually happen and SS is not renewed, tens of millions of seniors, disabled, and survivors will have nothing and be out in the streets.

    I am unable to perform intense physical labour (pretty much the only work I’ve done most of my life. Even bending down to pick something up off the floor is a painful challenge. I am unable to stand on my feet for more than 20 min to a half hour at a time let alone half a work shift. My keyboarding speed is abysmal down to about 15 – 18 words a minute (and that is on a “good day”) as I am down to using oney a single finger on mone of my hands. Go to school? I’m 68 and not about to incur a mountain of debt this late in life.

    This “sunsetting” will not only affect Social Security and Medicare, but other programmes seniors and disabled citizens rely on to survive like low income housing, SNAP/EBT, Medicaid, and transportation. Costs are rising out of control. Where I live it takes earning 64,000$ a year to meet the recommended 30% of monthly income to rent a 1 BR apartment (and I’m not even in the Bay area). I’d like Mr. Scott to tell me which companies will pay someone my age without a college degree and little work experience outside warehousing and shipping, that sort of a wage.

    …and this is not all.

    few know that Mitt Romney, considered a “hero” for standing up to T****, authored a measure that would fast track cuts to Social Security and Medicare in closed door sessions. This means no debate, no counter proposals just a committee vote which if the Senate is again under control of the (R)s would easily pass. Of course they don’t care, they have their pensions (paid for by us) to look forward to plus Social Security the latter for which the payroll liability is capped at 147,000$ a year (out of their generous 274,000$ salary).

    It seems the (R)s plan is to have people work until they drop dead on the job.

    This is why people need to get off their behinds and vote not to just maintain a majority but expand it, particularly in the senate to make Sens. Manchin and Sinema (who have helped Mitch obstruct just about everything the Biden Administration has put forward), irrelevant. Instead of just “vote blue” vote “true blue” as the status quo needs to go.

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