Here's a Bright Idea: Let's Expand Social Security
In a Progressive Leaders Forum Town Hall meeting that will air Wednesday on SiriusXM 127's "The Agenda" radio show, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) joined Nancy Altman of Social Security Works, Edward Coyle of the Alliance for Retired Americans and host Ari Rabin-Havt to discuss the future of Social Security, including Harkin's proposed legislation that would expand Social Security benefits. The Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 (S. 567) would raise the monthly Social Security benefit by about $65 and would measure inflation not with the chained CPI (a benefit cut), but using a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors (the CPI-E). The CPI-E would increase COLAs. The bill also would eliminate the Social Security tax cap so the wealthiest people would pay the same rate the rest of us pay. Under this bill, Social Security would be able to pay out full benefits to the year 2049.
Social Security should not be part of any deficit reduction debate, says Harkin. But Republicans are injecting Social Security into those debates because they want to cut the program—even though Social Security adds nothing to the deficit.
Nothing contributes more to keeping the middle class out of poverty than Social Security, Harkin says. The real solution to strengthen Social Security funding for the long term is to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share. The future projected Social Security shortfall is very manageable, Altman says, but an enormous amount of money is being spent in an effort to privatize the program so Wall Street bankers can profit from seniors' retirement funds.
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Economy/Here-s-a-Bright-Idea-Let-s-Expand-Social-Security
= new reply since forum marked as read
I guess when the 1% have all the money (and everyone else is starving or already starved), they win?