Opinion: Trump and Republicans push to destroy Social Security

With ardent GOP help Trump has spent three-and-a-half years decimating all components of the federal authorities. Now his consideration is fulfilling the GOP’s decades-long purpose of destroying aged Individuals’ retirement and medical health insurance applications by ravenous them of funding.

It’s no exaggeration to say that even Republicans are conscious of how essential the Social Safety Belief is to hardworking Individuals. And but for the reason that program’s inception they’ve tried to place an finish to all the New Deal provisions enacted throughout Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s tenure. The straightforward purpose why has nothing to do with the nation’s debt and deficit; it’s a authorities program that helps Individuals and like every little thing that helps Individuals is an atrocity in conservatives’ minds.

Over the previous couple of many years, at the very least, Republicans haven’t enacted any laws to assist the folks. They’ve, in actual fact, made eliminating any home program that helps Individuals not within the rich class their trigger célèbre; Trump has embraced the GOP’s assault on working Individuals with excessive prejudice.

Over the previous 12 months, and significantly since he intentionally ruined the financial system and killed over 150,000 Americans, Trump has pushed a payroll tax reduce and claimed it could assist the folks, scale back the deficit, and drive his legendary financial rebound. Even Trump and his Republican facilitators know that eliminating the “payroll tax” can have no impact on working Individuals, however they’re very conscious payroll tax reduce will additional enrich the already rich and help within the Social Safety Belief’s demise; it should additionally harm Medicare that’s included in any “payroll tax reduce” laws.

The large winners in any payroll tax reduce are very giant employers who will save the matching portion of Social Safety in payrolls. Common working folks pay a tad over 6 % of their revenue into the federal government’s retirement system and employers match that quantity. Medicare tax is separate from Social Safety, and like Social Safety is funded by the employees. Just like the GOP’s tried and true assault on each section of the federal authorities, ravenous authorities applications of funding results in their demise; it’s exactly how Trump and Republicans intend on killing off the US Postal Service.

Regardless of Trump’s insistence on a payroll tax reduce, there may be little curiosity from Republicans in Congress possible as a result of by now working Individuals comprehend it should have little impact, particularly when tens of millions of Individuals at the moment are out of labor attributable to Trump’s effectiveness in aiding the coronavirus’ unfold all through America. Republicans are additionally conscious, by now, that the quickest technique to put an abrupt finish to the folks’s retirement system is ravenous it of funding.

That being the case, Senate Republicans have devised a greater technique to reduce Social Safety and since beneath Trump there’s a unending and day by day confluence of crises as distractions, few Individuals are conscious Republicans plan to “reform” Social Security: a not-so-fancy method of claiming drastically chopping Social Safety. And as is all the time the case with something Republicans say will assist the folks, they declare “reforming” Social Safety with cuts to beneficiaries will improve this system’s fiscal well being far into the long run. It’s a typical soiled Republican lie.

If Republicans have been fascinated by conserving Social Safety wholesome far into the long run, they’d put a fast finish to the cap on contributions from the wealthiest Individuals. It’s an abomination that each hardworking American pays 6.2 % of their revenue whereas there’s a cap on each American incomes over $137,700 yearly. In response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly income on the finish of 2019 was “roughly $48,672.” Even employees incomes twice that quantity paid their full share of 6.2 % Social Safety (FICA) tax. Conversely, one of many Republicans most pushed to slash Social Safety, and certain kill it instantly, Willard Romney, pays less than 2-tenths of a % on his very, very vital revenue.

If each bit of each Individuals’ revenue was taxed on the identical 6.2 % price, the Social Safety Belief can be well-funded far, far into the long run. Nevertheless, Republicans, and certain a few Democrats, have reacted as violently to the the thought of each American contributing the identical quantity to the nation’s retirement system, and Medicare for that matter, as they rail in opposition to the idea of the extraordinarily rich and companies paying their justifiable share of taxes.

The idea of equality in taxation is as abhorrent to Republicans and Trump as equality beneath the regulation is and it’s by no means going to vary till the persons are well-informed about precisely why Republicans declare a self-funded unbiased program like Social Safety can not meet its obligations sooner or later. For canine’s sake, Republicans nonetheless declare that Social Safety is blowing up the deficit despite the fact that it’s mandated in the Trust that this system can not take from, or add to, the debt or deficit.

Republicans have lusted to slash, if not destroy, Social Safety for many years, if not because it was instituted as a part of the New Deal. And it is very important notice that it’s solely to counterpoint enterprise on the expense of the working class that aren’t rich sufficient to danger even one penny within the inventory market just like the tremendous rich class that funds the GOP.

It’s much more abominable as a result of Social Safety is funded by the workforce at no expense to the federal government. The true impetus to decimate Social Safety is endemic to conservatives who will transfer proverbial Heaven and Earth to take any and every little thing from the folks whether or not it’s their healthcare, freedom to peaceably assemble, entry to scrub air and water, and their self-funded retirement accounts – not as a result of they will spend it, however just because they are not looking for hardworking Individuals to have something.

This Congress is not going to give Trump the payroll tax reduce he calls for, however to hasten the demise of Social Safety they’re within the technique of doing the following neatest thing; use COVID-19 stimulus laws to “reform” a program and deny aged Individuals entry to their very own retirement revenue.

Maybe if Trump knew he can not probably get his tiny palms on Individuals’ outdated age pensions, then he would again off his demand for a payroll tax reduce. Nevertheless, it’s extra possible than not that he simply needs to break Social Safety as a part of his scorched Earth agenda.

Audio engineer and teacher for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of girls, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of faith and significantly, freedom of NO faith.

Born within the South, raised within the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.

Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.