A group of progressive Senators and Representatives, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) held a press conference on Thursday, November 15 to call for protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in any deficit reduction deal. See a video clip of their press event here.
Sanders said they were there to send a loud and clear message to the leaders of Congress and to President Obama: "Do not cut Social Security, do not cut Medicare, do not cut Medicaid. Deficit reduction is a serious issue but it must be done in a way that is fair. We must not balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the sick, the children or the poor."
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said the way to boost revenue for Social Security is to remove the $108,000 cap on the payroll tax. "If you want to fix Social Security, there it is," said Harkin. "Make those making millions of dollars a year pay the same thing and the same rate as those making 40 or 50 or 60 thousand dollars a year."
Others speaking at the press conference included Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island).
Sanders quoted Ronald Reagan, someone he says he rarely quotes. But Sanders invoked Reagan's words on October 7, 1984, when the conservative late president said, "Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. Social Security is totally funded by the payroll tax ... if you reduce the outflow of Social Security, that money would not go into the general fund to reduce the deficit." Reagan's statement, said Sanders, "goes to show you that anybody can be right at least once."
Meanwhile, in his Friday, November 16 column in the New York Times, Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman refuted those who want to raise the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare. Such a change would be "cruel, hurting the most vulnerable Americans," and would provide no economic benefit. Krugman concludes:
"The bottom line is that raising the age of eligibility for either Social Security benefits or Medicare would be destructive, making Americans' lives worse without contributing in any significant way to deficit reduction. Democrats, in particular, who even consider either alternative need to ask themselves what on earth they think they're doing."
Read Krugman's column here.