(Rush Holt)Top Democrat Identifies Another Threat To Social Security

[cal04]

Top Democrat Identifies Another Threat To Social Security In Obama Tax Plan
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/top-democrat-identifies-another-threat-to-social-security-in-obama-tax-plan.php?ref=fpi

An outspoken and respected House liberal is concerned that President Obama's tax cut plan will pose more than one threat to Social Security.

Progressive advocates, and a wide swath of the Democratic party, oppose Obama's call for a partial employee payroll tax holiday. Not because they don't want workers to have extra cash in their pocket, but because they worry that a supposedly temporary payroll tax rate will become the new normal and jeopardize Social Security in the long run. Next year, they worry, Republicans will characterize allowing the holiday to lapse as a "tax hike" on workers, and Dems will be cowed into extending it.

Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) shares that fear. But even if things don't shake out that way, he says, treating the funding mechanism for Social Security as a variable that can be tweaked to fund stimulus or reduce deficits will erode Social Security's status as the third rail of American politics, and leave it vulnerable to future attacks from the right.

(snip)
"Social Security becomes something we use to stimulate the economy, next year we'll use it to balance the budget -- it becomes another government program like the Endowment for the Arts," Holt said. "Ever since 1945 there have been dedicated enemies of Social Security and the reason it has been able to withstand the attacks is that it is special. If that goes away, Social Security goes away in no time flat."



Rep. Rush Holt: Tax Deal Turns Social Security Into ‘Just Another Trading Chip’

(snip)
With this deal, Social Security is put into a package with the Bush tax cuts, with the AMT, with business accelerated expensing, and so forth. And as a result, Social Security, in a sense, becomes just another government program. And if Social Security is a program where one year you borrow from it to stimulate the economy, and another year you use it to balance the budget, you replace it from the general fund — or maybe you don’t — the political support for this will evaporate quickly…That’s the real problem here. It changes the very nature of Social Security. <...>

What is worse is if people begin to believe that Social Security is just another trading chip. You can use it this year for this purpose and that year for another purpose. Whether to use Social Security to accomplish other government aims, and put it in the debate just like whether the income cut-off should be $250,000 or $1 million, means that Social Security is just like those other things.

Listen here:
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/12/15/holt-trading-chip/

[kentuck]

1. kick

and rec

[City Lights]

2. There's never a lock-box around when you need one.

Rec'd.

[tabbycat31]

3. kick

Rush Holt is a fighter and we need to have his back on this one. (I live just outside of his district).

[neverforget]

4. The Republicans get their foot in the door with this package and you can

guarantee that they will do everything they can to kill Social Security.

[Bandit]

5. Tax Deal Turns Social Security Into ‘Just Another Trading Chip’

Remember this Administration has stated more than once "Everything is Negotiable"

[glinda]

16. The American people are all in against their will. Same with Wall Street betting with pensions and

such.

[old mark]

6. The politicians have been drooling over the SS fund for decades, and I am afraid

this will be their wedge to get their hands on it, or to end it completely..."See, we told you it was a bad program...."


mark

[gratuitous]

7. But it's temporary! And a holiday! Who doesn't love holidays?

And heck, you didn't even know it was part of the tax cut extension negotiations, did you? Surprise! Doesn't everyone just love surprises? Remember: This is the best possible deal, couldn't be any better, no amendments, discussions or changes will be allowed. Just pass it. Don't look down the road - the administration's negotiators clearly didn't, so why should you? Do you think you're better than the administration? Smarter? That's bordering on racism, mister.

Yeah, as the "temporary" social security withholding "holiday" nears its end, you damn betcha the Republicans will be hollering themselves hoarse about the prospect of the Biggest Tax Increase Ever, how it will fall disproportionately on po' folk, and what a bunch of heartless bastards the Democrats are for wanting to take money out of the pockets of the American people. They will be ably abetted by the media echo chamber, such that there will be people all across the country (and some posting right here on this board) who will bewail the ruinous tax increase portended by the end of the holiday.

This whole package should be shit-canned if for no other reason than this.

[livingonearth]

8. There's another wedge too.

As I understand it, the agreement is to let Social Security be funded by the general fund during the "holiday".
This will have the effect of Social Security contributing to the deficit. Not only will Social Security lose it special status, it will become something the repubs can point to as a spending problem.:grr:

[Land Shark]

9. The respect for Holt does not extend to his bill keeping computer secret vote counts

If we can't get the vote counts right by making them transparent and open and honest instead of secret and proprietary, nobody in Washington willing to corrupt vote counts or having a supporter willing to do the same needs to fear the "wrath" of voters on social security or any other issue. That's the problem with Holt - being right on many issues except the one (transparent visible vote counts) that has the power to cancel out all others because it is the SOLE nonviolent leverage we have to enforce voters' positions on all the other issues!

So while I understand Holt has some good positions and don't dispute his social security position per se, if one is wrong on the most fundamental things (elections) all the rest becomes theater and the voters can't at all count on disciplining their reps with the threat of removal by election defeat.

[demodonkey]

15. Holt is absolutely RIGHT on election reform, and I for one am sick of him being attacked on DU.

Rush Holt's best-known election reform bill (he has proposed several good election reform bills) is the Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act (HR 2894) that would completely get rid of paperless Direct Recording Electronic voting machines immediately, get rid of DREs with "toilet paper" printouts in a short while, replace all DREs with voter-marked paper ballots, stop dangerous internet voting in its tracks, provide at least a basic audit of federal elections, and leave the door open for individual states to enact stronger reforms including 100% hand-counted paper ballots counted in the precinct on election night, if that is what a state desires.

This excellent bill has been stalled, but twenty-five percent of the American population of voters is still being forced to vote on totally paperless Direct Recording Electronic machines. Twenty-five percent of voters right now are still at the absolute, total mercy of software. With paperless e-voting there's nothing whatsoever to count as "votes" outside of the computer programming, even if you want to. How much "non-violent leverage" does anyone think that gives us, right now?

There is NO excuse whatsoever that every vote in America still does not at least have the baseline protection of a voter-marked paper ballot and this bill would provide that. You want more transparency, stronger audits, or full hand counts you can work for it from there, but every vote needs to start with a voter-marked paper ballot.

I personally am one of the voters still forced to use a paperless DRE. I am damn sick of various whackadoos who incessantly attack Representative Holt and his bill, while they personally have no plan other than to piss and moan about our elections and wait for the Tooth Fairy to somehow bring them what they deem The Perfect Bill and then somehow get it passed.

A paper ballot, marked by the voter. That's the floor. Rush Holt's excellent Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act SHOULD HAVE BEEN PASSED LONG AGO.

And in the meantime, leave the HERO who introduced it alone.


(On Edit: proud to be Rec #52 for Mr. Holt.)

[tomp]

17. paper ballot, marked by voter, counted in public, and tallies posted publicly....

.....individually BEFORE being entered into any computer system, with a period of local challenge prior to certification, and no time limit on certification. nothing less will work.

anyone advocating less is wrong.

[demodonkey]

18. Holt's bill will allow that, IF you can get your state to do it...

...in the meantime the Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act will protect every vote nationally with a voter-marked paper ballot and stop internet voting.

Anyone advocating for all-or-nothing reform by way of hand-counted paper ballots nationally in one fell swoop is incredibly naive and/or unrealistic -- and is playing right into the hands of the computerized DRE voting machine vendors and those pushing for internet voting. In other words, part of the problem!

A voter-marked paper ballot for EVERY vote in the United States. That's the floor we all must have. Then YOU get your state to take it upward from there.

On edit: Do you not know that Rush Holt has proposed two other election reform bills to require public posting of results on election night and to require reconciliation of results?

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:33:./temp/~bdX9tI:@@@L&summ2=m&

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:34:./temp/~bdX9tI:@@@L&summ2=m&

The man is an election reform hero and I am tired of him (and those of us who support his bills) getting kicked around. We are NOT WRONG.

[savannah43]

10. Google the "HIRE Act".

They're already using SS in this manner. BHO signed the HIRE Act into law last March. It gives employers a waiver of their contributions to the SS fund. There's more.

[cal04]

11. Rush Holt is on with Keith tonight

ShowPlug2: House is next, with few seeing the attack on Social Security that's next. Congressman @RushHolt does, joins us + @ChrisLHayes

http://twitter.com/#!/keitholbermann

[myrna minx]

12. Thanks for the heads up.

This is the mot cynical addition to this horrible bill.

[WizardLeft62]

13. Cutting the payroll could destroy Social Security later

Salon.com
Dec 10, 2010 08:30 ET

Obama is dealing away FDR's legacy
Cutting the payroll tax could boost the economy now -- and it could also destroy Social Security later
By Julian E. Zelizer
Zelizer is a history professor at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter," "Arsenal of Democracy," and the editor of "The Presidency of George W. Bush."

Read the Entire Article at:
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/12/10/...

[True_Blue]

14. Horrified! n/t

[AzDar]

19. K & R

:kick:

[TacticalPeek]

20. Why not the worst?

:grr:

[blackspade]

21. This whole tax 'deal'....

is a stinking pile of vomit.
The only thing good in it is the middle class tax modification.
The payroll tax 'holiday', raizing taxes on the poor, a mere 13 months of unemployment that does not even address the 99ers, the estate tax givaway, and the giant hole that the tax cuts for the rich will inflict on the deficit make this 'deal' a total republican wet dream.
What did they give up again?