Is he TRYING to lose? In any case, here's another point on which Tweedledum and Tweedledumber actually agree, since Biden too has long pushed for big "cuts" in Social Security (and, while he was still compos mentis, lied about it):
https://theintercept.com/2020/01/13/biden-cuts-social-security/ MCM > > https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/08/trump-just-admitted-live-television-he-will-terminate-social-security-and-medicare > Saturday, August 08, 2020 > by > Common Dreams <https://www.commondreams.org> > Trump Just Admitted on Live Television He Will 'Terminate' Social Security > and Medicare If Reelected in November > > *One progressive critic called the president's promise "a full-on > declaration of war against current and future Social Security > beneficiaries."* > *by** Jon Queally, staff writer > <https://www.commondreams.org/author/jon-queally-staff-writer>* > 31 Comments > <https://commons.commondreams.org/t/trump-just-admitted-on-live-television-he-will-destroy-social-security-and-medicare-if-reelected-in-november/80946> > [image: US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in > Bedminster, New Jersey, on August 8, 2020. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty > Images)] > > US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in Bedminster, > New Jersey, on August 8, 2020. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) > > President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon openly vowed to permanently > "terminate" the funding mechanism for both Social Security and Medicare if > reelected in November—an admission that was seized upon by defenders of the > popular safety net programs who have been warning for months that the > administration's threat to suspend the payroll tax in the name of economic > relief during the Covid-19 pandemic was really a backdoor sabotage effort. > > "We just heard it straight from Trump's own mouth: If reelected, he will > destroy Social Security." —Social Security Works > > Announcing > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/08/trump-executive-order-coronavirus/?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_trumporders231pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans> > and then signing a series of legally dubious > <https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/08/executive-order-stunt-no-substitute-real-relief-says-progressives-legally-dubious> > executive orders, including an effort to slash the emergency federal > unemployment boost by $200 from the $600 previously implemented by > Democrats, Trump touted his order for a payroll tax "holiday"—which experts > noted would later have to be paid back—but said if he won in November that > such a cut would become permanent. > > The Trump campaign was apparently so satisfied with the public > acknowledgement of the president's promise to make the payroll tax > permanent—a move that would inherently bankrupt the Social Security > system—that it clipped the portion of the press conference and shared on > social media immediately > <https://twitter.com/TeamTrump/status/1292200472837795843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> > after it concluded. The president's critics did as well, though they > carried a different message: > > Defenders of the program, including the advocacy group Social Security > Works, were quick to point out the implication of what the president said > and condemned Trump for threatening the program that has kept countless > millions of people out of poverty—during retirement years or due to > disability—since it was created over 75 years ago. > > "We just heard it straight from Trump's own mouth," the group responded > <https://twitter.com/SSWorks/status/1292199459095486465>: "If reelected, > he will destroy Social Security." > > Commonly known as the payroll tax, those are taxes paid both by employers > and employees—as dictated by the The Federal Insurance Contributions Act > (FICA)—that go to pay for both Social Security and Medicare. > > "Trump's executive order, which seeks to defer Social Security > contributions, is bad enough," said Nancy Altman, president of Social > Security Works. "But his promise to 'terminate' FICA contributions if he is > reelected is a full-on declaration of war against current and future Social > Security beneficiaries." > > "Social Security is the foundation of everyone's retirement security," > Altman added. "At a time when pensions are vanishing and 401ks have proven > inadequate, Trump's plan to eliminate Social Security's revenue stream > would destroy the one source of retirement income that people can count on. > Moreover, Social Security is often the only disability insurance and life > insurance that working families have. If reelected, Trump plans to destroy > those benefits as well." > > As the Trump administration has foreshadowed this kind of move for months, > economists on Friday warned again that any effort to undermine the payroll > tax would do practically nothing to help struggling workers and families, > but everything to sabotage two of the most popular and successful programs > in the country. > > "It's like borrowing money from the Social Security and Medicare trust > funds to give to employers just to hold," Seth Hanlon, a tax expert and > senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, explained > <https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-executive-order-payroll-tax-cut-social-security-medicare-weakened-2020-8> > to *Business Insider*. "They're just gonna hold the withheld taxes > because they'd have to pay it eventually." > > As *Common Dreams* reported > <https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/06/retirees-vow-fight-attempt-gut-social-security-trump-announces-executive-order> > earlier this week, retirees and their advocates have vowed to fight any > "attempt to gut" the program. > > On Saturday, Altman called on every lawmaker in Congress to denounce what > she called Trump's "unconstitutional raid on Social Security." In the > upcoming election, she said, "voters should treat any Senator or > Representative who is silent as complicit in destroying Social Security. > Furthermore, every American who cares about Social Security's future must > do everything they can to ensure that Trump does not get a second term." > Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 > License. Feel free to republish and share widely. > > > -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. Ways to unsubscribe: 1) send a blank email to [email protected] PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "News From Underground" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/newsfromunderground/CAGxB6W-QozDYe_gDSG6sTcZHkt_3_YU2E2TJU1ta%2B2Hm2XgD0Q%40mail.gmail.com.
