Social Security Looters

by Dollars and Sense

We received this comment from Matthew Skomarovsky of LittleSis, the "involuntary Facebook of powerful Americans" (if you haven't check out LittleSis, you should do so asap):

"Props as always to D&S for not letting this slip under the radar. Far too little attention has been given to how well the Social Security looters have positioned themselves in 2010.

"Here's a close look at Obama's recent appointments to the Debt Commission, and what it suggests about his administration's approach to Social Security:"

Obama Packs Debt Commission with Social Security Looters
Obama has filled his new 'debt commission' with Wall Street insiders determined to gut Social Security.
Matthew Skomarovsky | March 28, 2010

A decade of wars, tax cuts for the wealthy, and the fallout from Wall Street's housing bubble have almost tripled U.S. public debt since 2001, from $5 trillion to $14 trillion. Big, scary numbers like this, along with carefully timed downgrade warnings from Wall Street's obedient rating agencies and continuing worries about the financial collapse of Greece, Portugal and other nations have changed the political climate in Washington, breathing new life into decades-old schemes to slash Social Security and Medicare entitlements.

And defending Social Security does indeed sound like yesterday's issue—a fight the people won when they defeated Bush's attempt to privatize the system in 2005. Our Social Security program is currently solvent through 2037, while millions of Americans are unemployed, millions more are losing their homes, and still millions more are struggling to meet soaring health insurance costs after watching their retirement accounts dwindle in the financial collapse. Would the entitlement wolves—primarily Wall Street executives who stand to reap billions from Social Security privatization—really have the gall to go after Social Security now? In a word, yes.

Check out the full article on AlterNet or LittleSis.

Labels: Barack Obama, LittleSis, Matthew Skomarovsky, pensions, privatization, Social Security

 

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3/29/2010 02:05:00 PM