2 politicians Ernst should never be near when a camera is around: white nationalists Trump and Steve KingMaybe she was making a play for a bipartisan conservative ticket with Biden-- or maybe she's crazy. But Iowa freshman Senator Joni Ernst (R) looks like she made a classic rookie error this week when she intimated that Social Security benefits had to be cut. First a little background on Iowa, a classic swing state.
The aging of America is putting the squeeze on Social Security. About 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day and the number is heading even higher. Ready or not, our retirement system faces its first major overhaul in decades.
Last week Barbara Lee and Bernie Sanders introduced the Inclusive Prosperity Act, which is meant to make Wall Street fund the progressive agenda. "Through a small sales tax on Wall Street trades," she wrote, "our government could gain billions of dollars to invest in critical programs like Medicare for All, Debt-Free College, affordable housing, and more.
On January-- FDR's birthday-- John Larson (D-CT) introduced the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R.860), currently wending its way through Congress. The relevant committees doing hearings on it are House Ways and Means, Education and Welfare and Energy and Commerce. I'm told it will probably get voted on next month.
This morning, on FDR's 137th birthday, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-CT) introduced the Social Security 2100 Act. The bill, which would be the most significant update to Social Security since 1983, is meant to increase benefits and strengthen the Trust Fund. There are 203 co-sponsors.
The humorist Mark Twain once called reports of his death “an exaggeration.” The same goes for the endless fearmongering and scare stories about America’s most popular government program, Social Security.
I spent the last few days in lovely Burlington, Vermont… at Berniepalooza. It was very inspiring, very forward-looking of course-- with speakers like Stephanie Kelton, Cornel West, Bill de Blasio, Abdul El-Sayed, Ben Jealous, Susan Sarandon, John Cusack, Bill McKibben… talking about the progressive vision for America and the world.ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) had a conference too. It was the exact opposite-- how to abolish Social Security and Medicare kind of thing. Nancy Altman covered it for Common Dreams.
I spent the last few days in lovely Burlington, Vermont… at Berniepalooza. It was very inspiring, very forward-looking of course-- with speakers like Stephanie Kelton, Cornel West, Bill de Blasio, Abdul El-Sayed, Ben Jealous, Susan Sarandon, John Cusack, Bill McKibben… talking about the progressive vision for America and the world.ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) had a conference too. It was the exact opposite-- how to abolish Social Security and Medicare kind of thing. Nancy Altman covered it for Common Dreams.
