Social Security 8-15-12

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Huffington Post (NAT)

A Political Gift on Social Security's Birthday

David Shuster

8-14-12

"Social Security has helped vulnerable groups -- women, people of color -- stay out of poverty," Moore said on the call organized by Social Security Works and the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. "As people of color become a majority of the population, and women remain economically vulnerable later in life, Social Security will become more important to the country too."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-shuster/social-security-democrats_b_1777278.html

 

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WOWLTV (WV)

Social Security is 77 years old

8-14-12

As a group in Huntington marks the historic milestone of Social Security, many like Cecil Ferguson of Catlettsburg who depended on the program up are now wondering if the end is near …

http://www.wowktv.com/video?clipId=7613676&autostart=true

 

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WVNSTV (WV)

Social Security is 77 years old

Staff

8-14-12

The November elections are expected to dictate what adjustments are made to Social Security and Medicare. According to Strengthen Social Security, one in four West Virginians collect Social Security benefits, averaging about $13,000 annually.

http://www.wvnstv.com/story/19279637/social-security-is-77-years-old

 

The Hill (DC)

House Dems to debate moderators: Don't focus on Bowles-Simpson

Bernie Becker

8-14-12

“Our country’s economic outlook remains at the forefront of voters’ minds, and it is critical that each candidate discuss what his plans to continue our economic recovery are if elected president,” the three lawmakers wrote Tuesday to the chairmen of the presidential debate commission.

“However, it also is critical that this complex and multifaceted issue not be unnecessarily narrowed by focusing merely on one possible plan to the exclusion of other viable solutions.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/243645-house-dems-to-debate-moderators-dont-focus-on-bowles-simpson

 

Democracy Now (Blog)

77 Years After FDR Signs Social Security, VP Pick Paul Ryan Pushes Dismantling the Social Safety Net

8-15-12

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney’s newly picked running mate, Paul Ryan, is on the forefront of efforts to dismantle Social Security by putting seniors’ savings into risky Wall Street investments. Over the years, Ryan has not only pushed for privatizing Social Security, but also dismantling Medicare and slashing funding for Medicaid

http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2012/8/15/77_years_after_fdr_signs_social

 

Politico (DC)

Obama to talk Medicare in Iowa

Jennifer Epstein

8-15-12

"The President will talk about how his reforms have strengthened Medicare, saved millions of seniors on Medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs and cut the cost of Medicare by cutting wasteful spending out of the healthcare system—without impacting the benefits Medicare recipients receive by even a dime," Psaki said.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/08/obama-to-talk-medicare-in-iowa-132180.html

 

Chicago Now (IL)

Social Security entitlement; is this a joke??

Staff

8-15-12

Now Mitt and Barack, what are your thoughts about the seniors in this country of which I am one? Don’t remember getting older but it seems I have. For three years the seniors in the United States did not receive as much as a one penny increase in their social security.  This is not an entitlement program as it is being called. Every person who works has to have his or her social security deducted from their salary to fund the coffers. So after three years of no increase we finally received a pitiable increase in our 2012 checks.

http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-then/2012/08/social-security-entitlement-is-this-a-joke/

 

PBS (NAT)

Social Security: Absurdly Complex? Not that Hard to Fix?

Paul Solman

8-15-12

Today, Larry goes a step further in his condemnation of our retirement system. But instead of having me respond to his attack on Social Security, I've asked Nobel Laureate Peter Diamond to do so. I know of no greater scholar of Social Security than Peter, and he's been gracious enough to take on Larry for us all.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/08/social-security-absurdly-complex-not-that-hard-to-fix.html

 

Daily Caller (DC)

Exclusive: Bowles on Ryan: ‘I’m not going to act like I don’t like him’

Jamie Weinstein

8-14-12

“I think he’s smart. I think he’s intellectually curious. I think he is honest, straightforward and sincere. And I think he does have a serious budget out there — it doesn’t mean I agree with it by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m not going to act like I don’t like him or that I don’t have some real respect for him.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/14/exclusive-bowles-on-ryan-im-not-going-to-act-like-i-dont-like-him/

 

Arizona Star (NAT)

Barber, Grijalva pledge to protect Social Security

8-14-12

Grijalva said Mitt Romney has done the American people a "favor" by picking Paul Ryan as his running mate because "nobody can dance around the contrast anymore," he said. "Nobody can hide from what is on paper and what he's said repeatedly for the last four or five years."

He said a plan allowing workers to put part of their Social Security contributions in private retirement savings accounts is a gamble.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/barber-grijalva-pledge-to-protect-social-security/article_3cec130a-2283-5c02-8ad4-ea31cf865e77.html

 

Washington Examiner (DC)

Paul Ryan to Brit Hume: ‘I don’t want to get wonky on you’

Charlie Spiering

8-15-12

When Hume questioned when the Romney budget would balance the federal budget, Ryan explained that it was unclear.

“I don’t know exactly when it balances, I don’t want to get wonky on you but we haven’t run the numbers on that specific plan,” he said. “The plans we offer in the house balance the budget.”

http://washingtonexaminer.com/paul-ryan-to-brit-hume-i-dont-want-to-get-wonky-on-you/article/2504970#.UCu75FZlTSg

 

KTVN (NV)

Social Security's 77th Anniversary Observed in Reno

John Potter

8-14-12

Barbara Stone is 76-years old, a lifelong Nevadan who raised 5 kids without a husband. As she told me, "Oh I left him 48 years ago." A struggling single mom ever since? "Right, I got no help." Working since she was 13 years old, no money was left over after rent and food. "A lot of people my age, there was no way you could save for anything. If you're a woman, you made half the money a man did."

http://www.ktvn.com/story/19276210/social-securitys-77th-anniversary-observed

 

Politics

 

Politico (DC)

Tom Reynolds warns on Medicare

Alexander Burns

8-15-12

Former Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), who chaired the NRCC from 2003-2006, warned that he foresaw in this election shades of President George W. Bush’s fight to create a voucher program for Social Security early in his second term, which many say cost the GOP seats in 2006.

“You saw what happened to Bush with Social Security in the 2006 election,” he said. “This is déjà vu.”

http://www.politico.com//blogs/burns-haberman/2012/08/tom-reynolds-warns-on-medicare-132168.html

 

New York Times (NAT)

Obama vs. Poverty

Paul Tough

8-15-12

Looking back at the Anacostia speech today, what is striking about Obama’s proposal, beyond its size and scope, was that he didn’t conceive of it as just one more federal spending program. It was, instead, something more potentially disruptive: a thorough overhaul of existing federal aid to inner cities, a blueprint for a more coordinated, more effective, more responsive way to direct the often haphazard flow of government money into urban neighborhoods devastated by the multiple effects of concentrated poverty. It represented a break from the past: a new way of doing things in neighborhoods like Roseland.

As president, Obama has followed a very different path from the one he described in Anacostia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/magazine/obama-poverty.html?src=twrhp

 

Christian Science Monitor (NAT)

GOP-backed voter ID law will stand in Pennsylvania

Marc Levy

8-15-12

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said he wouldn't grant an injunction that would have halted the law requiring each voter to show a valid photo ID. Opponents are expected to file an appeal within a day or two to the state Supreme Court as the Nov. 6 presidential election looms.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0815/GOP-backed-voter-ID-law-will-stand-in-Pennsylvania

 

Talking Points Memo (NAT)
Obama’s Medicare Reforms Expanded Benefits For Seniors

SAHIL KAPUR

8-14-12

In fact, the totality of Obama’s Medicare reforms expand benefits for seniors and lower out-of-pocket costs. The Affordable Care Act actually enhances Medicare benefits by closing the prescription drug coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole” and expanding free preventive services, including an annual wellness visit.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/obama-medicare-cuts-romney-ad-paid-in.php