Bernie Sanders nails it again on Social Security!

Do you hear this Bernie? Run Sanders run!!!

For some reason I have had "Democrats" on this site argue with me for hours claiming Social Security is driving the debt as much as military spending.

I gave up when I explained about the trust fund and T bills accrued by the workers for the fund and a poster replied with a picture of a Social Security check and said something to the effect that because the check said US Treasury on it, it proved the general fund was paying for SS and that it was the largest source of the deficit.

There were those that agreed with this poster, odd that they are all conservative "Democrats", I often wonder why they push Pete Peterson talking points for him and claim to be Democrats while lying about SS.

Heritage Foundation and other Right Wing Think Tanks.

Why ANYONE on a Dem forum would even consider giving them any credibility is a question I cannot answer. Well, I probably have some theories as do all Dems.

To me that is a perfect example of irony.

deficit-and is not an investment program. It is a social insurance program that does not receive money from federal treasure, but from payroll taxes.

These facts need to be understood by everyone.

401(K)s and IRAs may seem like a great idea when you are 25 or even 65. But just how capable is your average 85 or 90-year-old of managing such an account?

Not very.

If you have a lot of money, you can pay someone to handle your retirement accounts as you age. But keeping up with investments is extremely time-consuming and difficult for an elderly person who may have a lot of health issues.

Of course, Wall Street wants these accounts. Who is easier to steal from than an 80-year-old with an account invested in the stock market?

When you retire, you start getting a lot of calls from people who offer services, products, etc. especially geared to the "needs" or fears of elderly people. It's disgusting. We finally changed our phone to receive only calls when the caller's name is identified.

For Pete Peterson and his crowd who denigrate Social Security and want stock market accounts for elderly people, I can only say they should be ashamed of themselves. They are either dishonest and want to hurt people or they are completely naive and do not realize how difficult it is for an 80-year-old person to manage complex financial accounts and make complex financial decisions.

I would invite Pete Peterson to drop in to lunch in my local senior citizens' center. He would be shocked at the obvious lack of the capacity to manage even a bank account much less more than that of the many elderly sitting around the table.

It's sheer greed and contempt for the elderly to want to reduce or do away with Social Security. Can't be done. It would cause incredible misery in our country.

...but slow to accept the facts? That is, If they ever accept the facts at all.

It occurred to me that the reason that so many accept the claim that Social Security is going broke despite the facts that say otherwise, and that climate change denial is true, despite the facts that say otherwise, and more, is that they tacitly accept as a given the overarching right wing theme that "they" are victims of a "liberal" conspiracy.

That is, underlying all of the lunatic themes of the right wing is the paranoia promoted in a united campaign by the right-wing commentators, politicians, talk show hosts, and the right-wing media.

The way to counteract right wing propaganda is, first, to avoid using the right wing "trigger" words in presenting the facts of the issues.

Second, keep progressive points of view simple, direct, and brief. Avoid mind-numbing charts and graphs, that are often inaccurate, if not totally irrelevant.

Avoid using examples to promote the Democratic Party that, in fact, promote the right-wing agenda. For example, pointing out how well the stock market is doing under a Democratic president undermines the criticism of "privatizing" Social Security. or at least diverting some of a person's retirement funds into the stock market. How so? Just point out that the stock market was booming in 1928, and then "crashed" in 1929. Then there is the example of Enron stock that many employees held in their retirement funds.

In other words, Social Security is a much more secure investment than the stock market.

Finally, Democrats should get on the same page. Whereas the right wing uses the same verbiage and promotes the same themes, the Democrats sound confused and befuddled by being all over the map with their pronouncements and often using the same "trigger" words used by the right, as well.

1) Take Mr. Gore's advice and keep a lock box on it's funding, which was illegally invaded and was never intended to float to the general fund.

2) Create good paying jobs in sustainable industries that we've put off too long. Fix the job market, and we'll ensure SS.

K&R