David Cay Johnston: Social Security Works

Talking Points Memo posted that “The 80-Year Conservative War on Social Security Is Back for More,” noting that conservatives have virulently opposed Social Security since its inception. President Reagan had signed a bill that slowly increased the retirement age, while also boosting payroll tax rates, and opening the door for failed privatization efforts by President George W. Bush.

Now, with a Republican majority in Congress, Social Security is facing further attacks.

A week after the House voted on a rule that could force a manufactured crisis in the disability program in late 2016, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) told a conservative audience at the Heritage Foundation that he wanted his committee to tackle Social Security.

As the new House Budget Committee chair, Price mentioned means-testing and increasing the eligibility age as possibilities. He also suggested that privatizing Social Security is a possibility.

Price also pressed the case for a full replacement bill for Obamacare (His own bill went nowhere).

Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson have written a book called Social Security Works! — which explains why NOW is the time to expand Social Security. Simply put, the book makes the case that Social Security is the program that can help stop the collapse of the middle class, lessen the pressure that's been squeezing families from all directions, and help end the upward redistribution of wealth that has resulted in perilous levels of inequality. A growing chorus of prominent voices in Congress and elsewhere are calling for the expansion of our Social Security system — people who know that Social Security will not “go broke” and does not add a penny to the national debt. Social Security Works! offers a powerful antidote to the three-decade-long, billionaire-funded campaign to make us believe that this vital institution is destined to collapse. It isn’t. From the Silent Generation to Baby Boomers, from Generation X to Millennials and Generation Z, we all have a stake in understanding the real story about Social Security.  All Americans deserve to have dignified retirement years, as well as an umbrella to protect them and their families in the event of a disability or premature death.  Sure to be a game-changer, Social Security Works! cogently presents the issues and sets forth both an agenda and a political strategy that will benefit us all. Below are excepts from the FORWARD of the book Social Security Works!, that was written by David Cay Johnston: