The Republican Party and right-wing media want you to believe differently, but tax cuts and tax loopholes for the filthy rich are entitlements. Deregulation and subsidies for corporations are entitlements. Social Security and Medicare, two of the most successful and popular government programs in the history of this country are not entitlements, but are, indeed, earned benefits, which the majority of Americans have worked or will have worked hard for and paid into their whole working lives.
The noble purpose of Social Security and Medicare, bestowed upon us by President’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson, architects of the New Deal and Great Society, respectively, was to provide security and dignity for Americans in their golden years.
Notwithstanding what I described above regarding Social Security and Medicare, the Republicans really make no secret about their disdain for and desire to eventually eliminate both programs. Their latest ploy was to deliberately ignore the advice of reputable economists and increase deficit spending by forcing through an unnecessary $1.5 trillion tax cut heavily weighted toward the wealthy. Now #45 and the Republicans are cynically claiming that they have to compensate for the deficit by making drastic cuts to so-called “entitlements” such as Social Security and Medicare.
Senator Bernie Sanders, who is leading a Political Revolution to transform our economy and government to work for all Americans, clarified, “As the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, I can tell you what the Republican budget is all about. They want huge cuts to healthcare, education, nutrition and affordable housing. They want to substantially increase military spending. They want to protect all the tax breaks that the rich and large corporations enjoy. That’s it.” He added, in response to the unveiling of #45’s 2020 budget proposal, “Trump’s budget is breathtaking in its cruelty. It cuts: $1.5 trillion from Medicaid, $845 billion from Medicare and $25 billion from Social Security.”
We, the People of the Political Revolution, must make it our mission to vote against any Republican (or Democrat) who votes for cuts to Social Security or Medicare.
Wayne Merritt
Dover, NH
* Note: The views expressed in Guest Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of NH-CAN or Nonviolent Citizen Action.