Social Security targeted

[SleeplessinSoCal]

Scott Bessent Calls New Tax Policy 'Backdoor For Privatizing Social Security'

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bessent-social-security_n_688a834de4b07dfa117f19dc


From Huffpost:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday described the tax bill President Donald Trump signed into law this month as a way of eventually privatizing Social Security.

The law created a new category of tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts for babies, called “Trump Accounts,” that will be initially seeded with $1,000 from the government.

Speaking at an event hosted by Breitbart News, Bessent suggested the accounts could so enamor Americans with the magic of private investing that they will eventually clamor for the privatization of the federal government’s popular old-age insurance program.......

[C Moon]

1. This is what they've been wanting since Reagan.

Looks like they are finally going to get it—but it took overthrowing the United States of America.
Fuck the billionaires. They will never get enough money and power.
Mark my word: up next is child labor and slave labor.

[Wounded Bear]

8. Since FDR. They've never supported SS...nt

[BoRaGard]

2. "We are coming for your money, suckers." - G.O.P., Inc/

Make no mistake. G.O.P. plans to privatize and then profit from your work and the money YOU PAID IN to SS.

republicons are going to rip off America again.

[oasis]

3. "republicons" nt

[CozyMystery]

4. It seems to me that someone gets rich every time something gets privatized. nt

[BoRaGard]

5. Astute observation, my Dear Mr. Watson

[pecosbob]

6. Just as I'm sure all of us prefer 401Ks to those antiquated pensions our parents had...not.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

7. Crooks and Liars chimes in on "Trump Accounts"

"For those who are unfamiliar with these Trump accounts, they function in a similar fashion to IRAs, in that up to $5,000 per child can be deposited each year for them from employers or individuals. The government will also deposit $1,000 per child born during 2025 through 2028. The funds are tax-deferred, restricted from withdrawal until age 59, or for the purchase of a home or college expenses. But here's the catch: They MUST -- not may, MUST -- be invested in stock index funds...."

More: https://crooksandliars.com/2025/07/treasury-secretary-spills-tea-social

[senseandsensibility]

9. MSNBC claimed he backtracked

on this. However, I don't believe anything that comes out of that guy's mouth.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

10. "Trump Accounts"???

They aren't making this up out of thin air.

Worst Cult Ever!

[Skittles]

13. we all know what happens to Trump products

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Maddow Blog-Trump's treasury secretary says he sees 'a backdoor for privatizing Social Security'

“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just said the quiet part out loud: The administration is scheming to privatize Social Security,” the DNC said.

Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary, said he sees part of the Republicans’ megabill as “a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”

It was interesting to see Democrats waste no time in offering “five-alarm fire” reactions. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-07-30T20:06:03.549Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-treasury-secretary-says-sees-backdoor-privatizing-social-securi-rcna222062

When the Republican Party’s domestic policy megabill — the inaptly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act — was still taking shape in May, GOP officials were determined to include a provision about investing $1,000 on behalf of every American baby born over the next four years.....

As Politico reported, the White House Cabinet apparently likes them anyway:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday framed the president’s new ‘Trump accounts’ as a transformative tool for long-term wealth building and a ‘backdoor for privatizing Social Security.’ Bessent said the new tax-deferred investment accounts, which were created by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax law earlier this month, could be a way to boost financial literacy and young voters’ engagement in the economy.

The logic of Bessent’s perspective was difficult to follow. According to his pitch at a Brietbart event in Washington, D.C., the treasury secretary believes young people will be less likely to “want to bring down the system” — and vote for candidates such as Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race — if they’re literally invested in the market.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:aunpu65mdrhwfie7ynymlzeh/post/3lv77cuzqn42c

Link to tweet

Bessent added, “In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security. If, all of a sudden, these accounts grow and you have in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement, that’s a game-changer, too.”

The Cabinet secretary didn’t elaborate on why, exactly, he thinks this is a “backdoor” for privatizing Social Security, or why the Trump administration sees privatizing Social Security as a worthwhile policy goal — though I'm certainly looking forward to his future comments on the subject. (The accounts included in the megabill won’t have any direct impact on Social Security benefits.)....

Brandon Weathersby, a spokesperson for American Bridge 21st Century, a super PAC aligned with Democratic politics, pushed a similar line: “Republicans think if they make the SSA inoperable by firing critical staffers and make it nearly impossible to get the help you need, they can deem it all beyond repair and privatize the entire program, so their billionaire friends can make a fortune off the backs of some of the most vulnerable Americans. ... Scott Bessent just admitted what Trump and Republicans have been hiding all along: Their plan was never to protect and strengthen Social Security; it was to dismantle it, take benefits away from seniors and the working-class, and turn the program into a cash cow for the ultra-rich.”

I have a hunch the public hasn’t heard the last of Bessent’s quote.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

12. Wouldn't the Senate Parliamentarian nix this effort?

Saying backdoor out loud is no way to give our social security to Wall Street.