Robert Greenwald Talks about how the Koch Brothers are attacking Social ...

older one, but still valid during the upcoming budget fights.

Real Romney blames Obama 'gifts last word

such sour grapes. what a loser

Social Security Online History Pages is social security just another tax?

Social Security Online History Pages:

click link

Fleming vs Davis  ruled the following.  yes, congress can change the rules and if they wish to eliminate, make private or anything; they can do so

one suggests folks pay close attention to the upcoming elections.  one can say same of medicare or any other social program

Fleming vs Nester and others pretty much say the same

[Flemming v. Davis, 363 U.S. 603, 609 (1960)]


     3. Furthermore, payments made by employers for each of their
employees are  NOT matching  to be credited to the account of the
employee, but constitute an EXCISE TAX on the employer's right to
do  business.   Consequently,  his so-called  "contributions"  go
directly into the general fund of the treasury.


    4. People participating in Social Security payroll deductions
do NOT  acquire property  rights or  contractual  rights  through
their payments, as they would if they were paying on an insurance
policy or contributing to an annuity plan.  Simply put, there are
no guarantees!   The Congress does have power to deny benefits to
citizens even, though they had paid S.S. taxes. Also, the amounts
of benefits  granted are  at the option of Congress.  Flemming v.
Nestor, 363 U.S. 603, 610 (1960).


      5. Benefits granted under Social Security are therefore NOT
considered earned by the worker, but simply constitute a gratuity
or gesture of charity.  As the Court states:

     "Congress included  in  the  original  Act,  and  has  since
     retained a  claim expressly  reserving to it  the  right  to
     alter, amend, or repeal any provision of the Act".

                [Flemming v. Nestor, 363 U.S. 603, 610-11 (1960)]

McCaskill's take on soar resolution

August 29, 2011

Dear Mr. R,

Thank you for contacting me regarding your priorities for the federal budget. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

The growing federal debt is an imminent threat to our nation's economy and the long-term viability of our most essential federal programs. Today our nation's gross debt is $14 trillion. If we do nothing, interest payments on the debt alone will limit our ability to invest in priorities like roads, schools, and secure borders. For example, current projections show that by 2035, we will be paying more in interest than we currently spend on Medicare and Social Security combined.

Since coming to the Senate, I have been focused on reducing the annual budget deficit in a responsible way. I have never requested an earmark and I worked to ban earmarks from Congress. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, I have been working to root out waste and fraud in government contracting, especially in the Defense Department. I support allowing the tax cuts to expire for multi-millionaires, and I sponsored Pay-As-You-Go legislation that would require any new tax cuts or spending to be deficit neutral. With Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, I fought to impose binding caps on discretionary spending that came within one vote of passing the Senate.

However, I will continue to oppose any budget proposal, like the Ryan budget plan passed by House Republicans and supported by nearly every Senate Republican, which would end Medicare as we know it. Instead of guaranteed access to affordable health insurance, the Republican plan would give seniors a voucher and force them to fend for themselves against health insurance companies in the private market. Under the Republican plan, when health costs go up, seniors would be forced to shoulder the burden. In fact, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that the Republican budget would double senior's out-of-pocket costs for health care. For seniors, most of whom are on a fixed income, this poses an impossible and unacceptable burden.

I am also committed to protecting Social Security. I know that the absence of a cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries has only made getting by more difficult, which is why I voted three times in 2009 and 2010 to provide Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries with additional support. I will not vote for any proposal that cuts benefits for current beneficiaries. I will not accept any attempt to privatize Social Security, which would fundamentally undermine the program and jeopardize the benefits of millions of beneficiaries. And, I will not support any plan to drastically slash benefits for future beneficiaries.

I am committed to reducing our nation's deficit and the debt, and that means I am open to any serious proposal to address these challenges. Because, in the long term, doing nothing is the surest way to jeopardize middle-class priorities like education, veterans' benefits, Social Security and Medicare. I assure you, I will continue to work with my colleagues to address our growing federal debt in a balanced manner that protects our most important federal programs, especially Medicare and Social Security.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other issue.



Sincerely,

Claire McCaskill
United States Senator

P.S. If you would like more information about resources that can help Missourians, or what I am doing in the Senate on your behalf, please sign up for my email newsletter at www.mccaskill.senate.gov.


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amazing non-answer pretty standard
hard to support canidate on issues when we do not have a clue how they will vote

reply from Sen Blunt on our resolution

Dear G,



Thank you for your thoughts on protecting Social Security and Medicare.



As we face difficult decisions about America's economic future, the solvency of Social Security and Medicare is a legitimate concern for many Americans. I am committed to protecting these vital programs and keeping the promises made to seniors.



I have created a plan to protect Social Security for the next 75 years that will not affect anyone 55 years of age or older, will not raise taxes, and will not means test seniors. My plan calls for a more accurate method of calculating the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), one that reflects the changing price of goods that seniors purchase, such as health care and energy. This will allow for immediate improvements to the current system, while preserving benefits for future generations.



Likewise, any proposals affecting Medicare should—most importantly—protect current seniors. We must find solutions that will lower the cost of health care and improve access without cutting Medicare, rationing care, or bankrupting the country. We need to keep what is working and fix what is broken in health care.



In the Senate, I will work to protect these important programs for seniors and strengthen them for our children and grandchildren.



Again, thank you for contacting me. I look forward to continuing our conversation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SenatorBlunt) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RoyBlunt) about the important issues facing Missouri and the country. I also encourage you to visit my website (blunt.senate.gov) to learn more about where I stand on the issues and sign-up for my e-newsletter.

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note: change to cost of living means cuts in every social program including social security, medicare, medicaid and far more

Alas, I do not have a difficult decision. no confidence in our Missouri senator whom would protect billionaires and stick it to the retired and poor

you can quote me

national call in days social security cost of living proposal

National Call-In Days: July 14-15

Your Social Security benefits are under attack by politicians in Washington. They want to:

Cut Social Security’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to reduce the deficit. But Social Security doesn’t contribute a penny to the deficit.
Raid Social Security by using your contributions to give a tax break to Wall Street banks, Big Oil and other corporations.

They shouldn’t get another taxpayer handout. Social Security belongs to you. You pay for it in every paycheck. Don’t let them cut it or raid it!

Call your Senators on Thursday and Friday, July 14-15, at 1-866-251-4044.

Tell them:

NO cuts to Social Security!
NO cuts to Social Security’s COLA!
NO Social Security payroll tax holiday!

jobs for justice rally in st. Louis against social program cuts in Missouri

I attended the rally/demonstration today. Democratic State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford was the only politican whom attended this rally. Ms Oxford is a very progressive leader in the St. Louis area.



Below is from KSDK on the subject: http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=181370

Demonstrators protest proposed Missouri budget cuts
Posted By: Mike Garrity Date last updated: 7/29/2009 8:49:16 PM


There's new concern among many Missouri state workers as well as people who depend on state social or health services. They're worried proposed budget cuts could mean vital services will be eliminated.

By Mike Garrity

KSDK -- There's new concern among many Missouri state workers as well as people who depend on state social or health services. They're worried proposed budget cuts could mean vital services will be eliminated.

In south St. Louis on Wednesday, a crowd of more than 100 state workers and people who depend on state services demonstrated outside the Missouri Department of Social Services office on South Broadway.

It was an effort to draw attention to proposed budget cuts.

The union that represents state social services workers says Governor Jay Nixon has asked state departments to cut an additional $60 million from their budgets. That's on top of $425 million that's already been cut.

The union says nearly half of the Governor's newly requested cuts are to come from the Missouri Department of Social Services and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

And the people at Wednesday's demonstration say in this economy, more and more Missourians are turning to those agencies for assistance.

Meanwhile the governor's office is only saying that Governor Nixon has asked each state agency to review it's budget and submit recommendations for proposed cuts.

Nixon's office says each recommendation is being reviewed, but no decisions have been made.

The governor expects those decisions, "within the next few weeks", his press secretary tells us.

But the state workers' union says sunshine law requests show numerous programs on the proposed chopping block.

"Foster care services, crisis nursery services, child abuse and neglect prevention services, emergency child care, inspections at residential care facilities, long term care facilities, basic stuff, this is not like eliminating the cream and getting skim milk," says Bradley Harmon, a Missouri Department of Social Services Employee who is also the president of the state workers' union.

Among the people at Wednesday's demonstration was Melanie Shouse.

She's a struggling small business owner who could only afford a catastrophic insurance policy.

So ever since she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago, she's become dependant on the state, specifically Missouri Medicaid to assist her with chemotherapy treatments.

Melanie is now concerned that the health services that she now depends on could be on the chopping block as well.

"Well it will affect people like myself all over the state who are really counting on Missouri Medicaid to fill the gaps in their health coverage," Shouse worries.

"The cuts that are being proposed now are cutting bone, there's no fat left, there's no muscle left, we are dismantling our social safety net system," says Harmon.

These proposed cuts also put Governor Nixon in a tough spot politically.

Many of the people demonstrating Wednesday, including those with the state workers union worked to get Nixon elected.

They are now asking for a meeting with the Governor, and are suggesting things like a proposal to change the state's tax structure to bring in more revenue.

"I'm counting on him (Nixon) to do what he said he was going to do when he was running for office, which would put the needs of ordinary working Missourians first," says Harmon.

Democratic State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford was also at Wednesday's demonstration.

She thinks the Governor should at the very least postpone any cuts to social, senior, or health services.

Mott Oxford believes the proposed cuts would end up costing the state in the long run.

"I can't believe it will save money, because if you take money out of crisis nurseries, (for instance), you put kids into foster care which is very expensive," Mott Oxford says. "One of the easiest places to look is when you cut money in the mental health budget. It means that people who could get medication and services in their neighborhood don't get treated, and they wind up making stupid choices that get them in jail, which is expensive."

And while it wouldn't be on the table until the next legislative session Mott Oxford is the one behind a proposal to change in the way the Missouri tax system works.

She wants to adjust the state's tax brackets so the wealthiest 20 percent of the population would be forced to contribute more, and the poor would not have to pay as much.

Below is the statement from Governor Nixon's office in its entirety:

"The Governor has asked each state agency to review their budgets for fiscal year 2010 and submit recommendations to the state budget office for proposed cuts. With the challenging budget picture for the foreseeable future, it is vital that Missouri's state government live within its means so we do not find ourselves having to cut core essential services as other states have been forced to do. Each of the recommendations from the agencies is being reviewed, but there have been no decisions made. We expect those decisions to be made within the next few weeks."

- Scott Holste, Press Secretary to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon


KSDK