Bernie Sanders Blasts "Fiscal Summit" Aimed at Attacking Social Security

May 16, 2012
    Sanders
Senator Sanders blasts the Pete Peterson "fiscal summit" and continuing efforts to destroy Social Security.

Pete Peterson is Wall Street billionaire who for years has spent lots of his own money (a half-billion just in the past five years) promoting his pet political project: slashing Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other vital government programs.

While the vast majority of American voters reject Peterson's Scrooge-like agenda, Washington elites from both parties and the media come running when Peterson calls. So it was on Tuesday, May 14 when Peterson hosted a "fiscal summit" whose participants included Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, former President Bill Clinton, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, House Speaker John Boehner, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and other media big shots, and members of the failed Bowles-Simpson Deficit Commission (the Catfood Commission.)

The purpose of this meeting was to re-launch the bipartisan attack on Social Security in the name of "deficit reduction." But the "summit" was not unchallenged. Alex Lawson of Strengthen Social Security quickly organized a protest event outside, which was joined by representatives of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Campaign for America's Future, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. UE was represented by Political Action Director Chris Townsend, and Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont) spoke, delivering a blistering attack on Peterson and politicians who join in his conspiracy to wreck Social Security and Medicare.