Social Security News 5-17-12

 SSW/SSSC mention***

KMZU 100.7 FM (Radio)

Social Security to Dry Up Three Years Earlier

05-12-12

John Chojnicki

Some economists suggest keeping the current program for those 55 and older and offering younger workers the chance to invest into private retirement plans.  Social Security Works co-director Nancy Altman says the program is efficient the way it is currently constructed.

http://www.kmzu.com/social-security-to-dry-up-three-years-earlier/ 

SSW/SSSC mention***

 

Democratic Underground (Blog)

Seniors Join Senator Sanders to Protest Billionaire "Cut Social Security" Conference

05-16-12

Staff

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002693566 

 

Photos of the Event

National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncpssm/sets/72157629756405074/show/ 

Daily Herald (IL)

5-16-12

Andrew Taylor

Lawmakers gather to talk deficit, answers elusive

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., addresses a rally outside a venue for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2012 Fiscal Summit.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120516/business/705169908/

 

Also appeared in:

 

Wall Street Journal (NAT)

http://online.wsj.com/video/sanders-stages-protest-outside-fiscal-summit/3C5CAAB5-FEA8-4CD7-9CEE-30FE0AF80F16.html?KEYWORDS=Peter+G+Peterson

 

San Francisco Chronicle (CA)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/15/national/w145724D36.DTL

 

ABC22 (VT)

http://www.abc22.com/story/18434293/bernie-sanders-fires-up-rally-outside-fiscal-summit

 

UT San Diego (CA)

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/may/16/lawmakers-gather-to-talk-deficit-answers-elusive/

 

The Christian Science Monitor (NAT)

Senate Republicans to deal on the budget, but Dems aren't playing 

05-16-12

David Grant

One of the most vulnerable Democratic senators, Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia, took shots at both sides. He issued a statement saying he, too, was fed up with a lack of progress on the budget and drilled Mr. Obama’s offering because it “digs an even deeper debt hole for the next generation.” But he also said Republican budgets would “destroy” Social Security and Medicare.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/senate-republicans-deal-budget-dems-arent-playing

 

CNN (NAT)

Grow up, Congress: Make a deal on debt

05-17-12

John Avlon

What's frustrating is that we know the way out. It has been detailed in bipartisan plans from the Bowles-Simpson commission to the Rivlin-Domenici commission to the Gang of Six and the outlines of the "grand bargain" that was almost achieved by President Obama and Boehner.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/opinion/avlon-debt-ceiling/index.html

 

Economic Policy Institute

Social Security advocates go on the offensive

05-17-12

Monique Morrissey

All of this is to say that there is a shared resolve among Social Security advocates—many of whom attended Tuesday’s protest at the “Fiscal Summit”—to fight cuts in the program while pushing for needed improvements. The one potential outlier is a certain 1000-pound elephant that sometimes thinks it wise to make nice with the poachers.

http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-advocates-offensive/

 

Campaign for America’s Future

Fiscal Summit: Boehner, Ryan Show Peterson Summit's True Colors

05-15-12

Isaiah J. Poole

Peterson and the people who planned the Fiscal Summit had to have known when they planned to have House Speaker John Boehner as the day's closing speaker that he would deliver the right-wing, red-meat, no-compromise speech that even Peterson himself was too polite to give.

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2012052015/fiscal-summit-boehner-ryan-show-peterson-summits-true-colors

 

Fox Business (NAT)

Are My Social Security Benefits Taxable?

05-17-12

Bonnie Lee

You must pay income taxes on the funds that are set aside in your Social Security Trust fund for your retirement years.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/05/17/are-my-social-security-benefits-taxable/

 

Huffington Post (NAT)

Obama, Boehner Talk Debt Ceiling In Meeting

05-16-12

Sam Stein

Apparently healed from the trauma caused by last summer's debt-ceiling showdown, House Republicans and the White House have begun an eight-month long standoff over the next debt-ceiling fight.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/obama-john-boehner-meeting-debt-ceiling_n_1521930.html

 

Economic Policy Institute

Misguided views of Social Security emerge at fiscal summit

05-16-12

Rebecca Thiess

The focus this year, somewhat strangely, seemed to be on the wholesale acclamation of the Bowles-Simpson deficit commission report from Dec. 2010, The Moment of Truth. This represented somewhat of a departure from the previous year’s summit, when a fair deal of attention was paid to six very different long-term budget plans from organizations spanning the political spectrum (including this plan from EPI). While Bowles-Simpson was certainly present in 2011, it dominated the 2012 summit.

http://www.epi.org/blog/misguided-views-social-security-emerge-fiscal/

 

National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Billionaires Against Social Security Unite

05-15-12

Staff

The Pete Peterson Fiscal Summit is one of the multi-billionaire Wall Street financier’s most visible legacies from his commitment to spend $1billion dollars in a campaign to convince America we can’t afford middle-class programs like Social Security and Medicare.

http://www.ncpssm.org/entitledtoknow/?p=2344

 

Rolling Stone (NAT)

Bill Clinton: How to Tame the Debt Without Screwing the Poor and Middle Class

05-16-12

Jared Bernstein

Where President Clinton goes wrong is in regards to Social Security.  He strongly endorses – says he "loves" – the Bowles-Simpson commission’s recommendations for achieving Social Security solvency.  He particularly likes the fact that their plan achieves significant savings by cutting benefits for wealthy folks like him, who "can afford it."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/bill-clinton-on-politcs-policy-and-human-nature-20120516

 

SC Magazine (SC)

IT head fired, ombudsman hired in wake of Utah breach

05-16-12

Dan Kaplan

An apologetic governor of Utah on Tuesday announced the resignation of the state's executive director of technology services, and the hiring of two others, following a massive breach affecting Medicaid claimants.

http://www.scmagazine.com/it-head-fired-ombudsman-hired-in-wake-of-utah-breach/article/241473/

 

 

Politics

 

The New York Times (NAT)

Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S.

05-17-12

Sabrina Tavernise

Non-Hispanic white births are no longer a majority in the United States, a tipping point that has implications for politics, the economy and a nation’s identity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/us/whites-account-for-under-half-of-births-in-us.html

 

Center For Economic and Policy Research

NYT Promotes Generational War

05-17-12

Dean Baker

The NYT had an article reporting the fact that whites did not constitute a majority of births in the United States for the first time in the 12 months from July 2010 to July 2011. While this is interesting, it is important to note that the concept of "white" is not w

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/nyt-promotes-generational-war

 

Pew Research Center (NAT)

The Latino Electorate in 2010: More Voters, More Non-Voters

04-26-11

Mark Hugo Lopez

More than 6.6 million Latinos voted in last year’s election—a record for a midterm. Fueled by their rapid population growth, Latinos also were a larger share of the electorate in 2010 than in any previous midterm election, representing 6.9% of all voters, up from 5.8% in 2006.

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2011/04/26/the-latino-electorate-in-2010-more-voters-more-non-voters/

 

The New York Times (NAT)

G.O.P. ‘Super PAC’ Weighs Hard-Line Attack on Obama

05-17-12

Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg

A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire, Joe Ricketts, seeking to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the “super PAC” era.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/us/politics/gop-super-pac-weighs-hard-line-attack-on-obama.html?hp

 

The Wall Street Journal (NAT)

Unknowns Loom If Greece Exits Euro

5-17-12

Gabriele Steinhauser

Returning to a national currency after more than a decade of using the euro and having its money managed by the ECB would catapult Greece into a financial, legal and political no-man's land.

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303879604577408464141355748.html?mod=WSJPRO_hps_MIDDLEThirdNews

 

Forbes (NAT)

What Mitt Romney Is Really Worth: An Exclusive Analysis Of His Latest Finances

5-17-12

Edwin Durgy

Mitt Romney isn’t the richest person to ever run for President – Ross Perot had him beat by a factor of ten. And if he’s elected, inflation adjustments might favor sprawling plantation owners like Washington and Jefferson, or Kennedy if family assets counted. But there’s no denying that in terms of total dollars a President Romney would be the wealthiest White House occupant ever, and would be even wealthier had he not set aside a trust, now worth $100 million, for his 5 boys. So just how rich is he?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwindurgy/2012/05/16/what-mitt-romney-is-really-worth/

 

The Hill (DC)

Clyburn may seek higher post, ready for showdown with Hoyer

05-17-12

Mike Lillis and Bob Cusack

Asked whether he will seek a higher leadership post, Clyburn said, “I’m not closing the door on anything.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/227947-clyburn-gets-ready-for-showdown-with-hoyer

 

The Hill (DC)

Sen. DeMint defends his role in upset in Nebraska's GOP Senate primary

05-16-12

Alexander Bolton

Sen. Jim DeMint is not apologizing for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Nebraska’s Senate Republican primary.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/227931-demint-defends-his-role-in-nebraska-senate-gop-primary-upset

 

National Journal (NAT)

Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality

05-16-12

Jim Tankersley 

There’s one idea, though, that TED’s organizers recently decided was too controversial to spread: the notion that widening income inequality is a bad thing for America, and that as a result, the rich should pay more in taxes.

http://www.nationaljournal.com//features/restoration-calls/too-hot-for-ted-income-inequality-20120516

 

National Journal (NAT)

House Passes GOP Version of Domestic Violence Bill

05-16-12

Billy House

The Senate bill provides new protections for gay, immigrant, and Native American victims of domestic abuse while the House version does not.   The House’s passage of a more limited law sets the stage for what is likely to be weeks or even months more of election-year political maneuvering on the legislation. There was uncertainty Wednesday night over how soon the two chambers might try soon to work toward agreement on a finalized bill in conference, if at all. The White House already has called the House Republicans’ bill unacceptable, and threatened a veto by President Obama should that version land on his desk.

http://www.nationaljournal.com//congress/house-passes-gop-version-of-domestic-violence-bill-20120516

 

The Wall Street Journal (NAT)

Geithner: U.S. ‘Can’t Afford’ Bush Tax Cuts for Wealthy

05-17-12

Damian Paletta

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday said the U.S. "can't afford" to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the upper-income when they expire later this year, as he spelled out the Obama administration's economic views in a speech.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/05/17/geithner-u-s-cant-afford-bush-tax-cuts-for-wealthy/