Farewell social security in the US? November 17, 2016
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
Jamelle Bouie who is a fairly sober commentator on Slate.com appears to think so.
With a Republican president in the White House and majorities in the Senate and the House, Speaker Paul Ryan has the fuel he needs to enact his “road map,” an expansive plan to roll back the American welfare state, such that it exists.
That such that it exists is crucial. Compared to EU states the social safety net in the UK is extremely partial. And there are road maps already extant for those who would drive through what is left.
Essentially, to replicate for the country what Sam Brownback and Bobby Jindal have done for their respective states. What should we expect? With President Trump’s signature, Ryan will repeal the Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank, and much of the legislative legacy of the Obama administration. He will craft and pass a massive package of tax cuts and “tax reform” that will deprive the federal government of revenue and fundamentally change the relationship between it and the American public.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
The vast majority of Social Security recipients are older white people, and they do vote. Members of the House of Representatives face the electorate every two years. No doubt there are many Paul Ryan-type market fundamentalists who would like to eliminate social security, or at least privatize it, but it may not be politically feasible.
They may be more successful in destroying or curtailing other aspects of Social Security such as disability.
““We’re not going to hurt the people who have been paying into Social Security their whole life,” Trump declared, calling the payment of promised benefits “honoring a deal.”
But the man heading the Trump transition team’s Social Security effort? Michael Korbey, a former lobbyist who has spent much of his career advocating for cutting and privatizing the program,”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwasik/2016/11/16/three-ways-trump-gop-may-cut-social-security-medicare/#35ab4a2f4e0e
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Very fair point CL. I think what you say is very persuasive.
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I’m not quite sure if this is satire or not.
http://www.salon.com/2016/11/16/hope-for-the-underclass-why-paul-ryan-keeping-his-job-as-speaker-is-a-victory-in-the-war-on-poverty/
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This might give a clue as to satire or not:
The writer “analyzed municipal credit for Goldman Sachs and Moody’s Investors Service.”
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Yes, she’s serious. God help America
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“The European Young Conservatives (EYC) last weekend held its annual Freedom Summit, a conference for young leaders from center-right political parties across Europe…
Established in 1993 under the patronage of former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the EYC touts the conservative and libertarian ideologies of its members and the youth wings of political parties across Europe….
“A huge highlight this year was the venue,” said EYC Secretary General Alexander Redpath, a representative of Northern Ireland’s Ulster Young Unionists. “I can’t speak more highly of Porto.”
http://opportunitylives.com/european-young-conservatives-bring-free-markets-across-the-pond/
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Carrie Sheffield “formerly worked for syndicated columnist Robert Novak…
Sheffield has defended the Tea Party movement,…
She is the sister of blogger and activist Matthew Sheffield..and the niece of beauty queen Charlotte Sheffield, former Miss USA.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Sheffield
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The Republican Party that the writer is talking about is dead. It’s kaput. Ryan is still speaker, but his vision for America is not the party’s vision; he is not the standard bearer.
Donald Trump is and he does not stand for the decentralized, limited government of Ronald Reagan. To be honest, I’m not sure what Trump really believes because I don’t believe a word out of his mouth (even the hateful ones). I think he’s all bluster.
However, unless he really just wanted the job and doesn’t care about the cohort who put him there (& I don’t dismiss that possibility) he will not listen to those from the old (now dead) Republican Party who want to privatize social security. Trump’s most enthusiastic voters are not rich and they are older – keeping social security as it is suits them. I don’t even know if Trump will countenance a rise in the age of retirement.
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