Senator Obama, Please Stop Echoing Right-Wing Lies About Social Security!

Barack Obama is echoing the right's destructive narrative about Social Security being in crisis. The crisis is that Reagan and then Bush took all the money from the Social Security Trust Fund to use for tax cuts for the rich. (Clinton's surpluses were paying it back, Bush reversed that.) And now the Trust Fund is going to need some of that money back .

The right's line is that this means Social Security is in crisis, is "not going to be there" for the next generation, and "tough choices" are required. The audacity -- they took the money, and now they say this is Social Security's problem, and that we have to fix Social Security! They say this to distract the public from asking for the money back, and to get them to support efforts to privatize the program.

And Barack Obama has joined them in this! Recently an Obama ad reinforced the right's bamboozlement that Social Security is running out of money. speaking on Meet the Press:

Now, we've got 78 million baby boomers that are going to be retiring, and every expert that looks at this problem says "There's going to be a gap, and we're going to have more money going out than we have coming in unless we make some adjustments now." ... I want to make sure that it's there not just for this generation, but for next generations. So that means that we're going to have to make some decisions...

Paul Krugman pleads with him to stop. A few years ago the right tried to go after Social Security and there was:

... a determined defense by progressives in the media, on the blogs, and in Congress beat back one spurious argument after another, while the American people made it clear that they really want a program that guarantees a basic retirement income that doesn't depend on the Dow. And Social Security survived.

All of which makes it just incredible that Barack Obama would make obeisance to fashionable but misguided Social Security crisis-mongering a centerpiece of his campaign.

Barack Obama, please realize that you are assisting the right's efforts to get rid of Social Security. Their strategy is to make the public think that the program is in trouble and then sweep in with their "solution." (This is called "disaster capitalism.") The other day I wrote,

I know that Senator Obama's heart is in the right place and he has no intention of harming Social Security. But this ad is a mistake that could backfire. Please stop running this ad and please change the language. Instead of reinforcing the right's lie that Social Security has a problem, let people know that the conservatives took their money from Social Security and gave it out as tax cuts to the rich and THAT is the problem!

Is your heart in the right place? Social Security is not in trouble. Stop saying it is.

Follow Dave Johnson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dcjohnson

Comments

[pigsatthetrough]

"They say this to distract the public from asking for the money back, and to get them to support efforts to privatize the program."
Ask for it back? Is that something like the public asking for the end of the war, or for bringing the troops home, or not to support terror candidates, and on and on? The Repugnants are right there is a crisis. No matter that they caused it. The Dems, who have obviously no capabilities, can talk about it (the problem), ignore it, push another myth of how they would look after it, but nothing will happen. Where will the money come from? In ten years time, who is going to lend America money? Any member of the public had better forget relying on governments for their future, no matter Repugnant or Cowardly Dems, and start right now with a plan to look after themselves. The lack of money will make the forty million without health insurance, pale, compared to the future none with retirement funds, except the oil and military industrialists, rich, who are ripping off the nation now. Want to change things? Do not vote for any incumbent, in the next election. Give them something to be afraid of! Vote for Ron Paul for President, elect him as an independent if the Repugnants don't want him.

[zjr909]

Reading a lot of the comments herein, it's easy to see why Obama said what he did about Social Security. He's playing to the faux-progressive base, those who see Social Secuity as some kind of fallen woman who must now spend the rest of her life wearing a big scarlet letter. The Social Security fund was raped; it didn't coyly say under its breath "Come on boys, see what I've got in here for you." So, please, commenters, could we just stop BLAMING THE VICTIM.

[peterg76]

Well, you embezzle money from a fund, the fund is going to be in crisis....

[corwin]

By the way,
"yet it still moves"

[corwin]

I want Sen Obama to get the nomination so I can vote for a Democrat.One of my biggest problems with people on this site is their ability to "know how not to know".Lewis Carroll(actually a mathematician in his day job) had a character in an Alice book who counseled saying three impossible things each morning.You've not reached your days quota.

[MitchW]

We dont have a problem with social security - we just need everyone to pay into it, including teachers/professors who are are allowed to avoid paying SS tax and contribute to thier individual teachers retirement account. Thats right, the academics who preach the evils of privatization and estoll the virtues of social security may be one of those who got to "opt out", while a student doing a minimum wage job bears the full burden. Lets all pay our fair share, and eliminate the teachers retirement accounts in favor of a unified social security system for all.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

Obama must be getting advice from the Clintons or the GOP on this one....

[anybodybutBush101]

I thought that Obama wanted to tax the very wealthy who got the Reagan Tax benefit's to put money back into SS? I don't see a problem with that.

[CalDem]

Did I miss something? I never heard him advocating private accounts and related right-wing suggestions? Why the uproar? Do we have to agree with every single aspect of a candidate's proposal? Didn't he say on Meet the Press that he would consider other options and opinions?

[Mrrar]

". Instead of reinforcing the right's lie that Social Security has a problem, let people know that the conservatives took their money from Social Security and gave it out as tax cuts to the rich and THAT is the problem!"

So wait.

There is no problem, Social Security is not at all at risk for failure! But there's a problem, which is going to cause Social Security to fail.

It's amazingly how deftly Krugman is able to say such a blatant contradiction in a single sentence.

Fact is, America is in massive deficit spending. If they stopped borrowing from the SS Trusts today, we'd still hit a shortfall when My generation needs its Social Security. Covering our Ears and Eyes and pretending nothing's wrong.. that's the CONSERVATIVE way. That's what they did about the environment, and look where it got us. That's what they did about civil rights, and look where it got us. That's what they did to those of us who were skeptical of the Iraq war, and look what it got us.

Stop supporting these blatant hit jobs on Obama. Stand up for something, for god's sake. When a man states something so obviously contradictory as "There is no problem but there is a problem," Your BS Alert should be blaring.

Obama wants to make Social Security progressive by removing the cap on people making over 90k$ a year. If you think that's unreasonable, maybe you should consider switching parties.

Oh here's a thought. Maybe the reason Krugman's really trying to hit Obama on this.. is because he makes more than 90k$ a year. And he doesn't want to pay his fair share.

Just a thought. Wink. Wink.

[MRb1000]

Here we go with the Hillary machine again and again it is to late she screw up. She label as a flip flopper and a lier. This will stick for ever.

[qtez4183]

So i guess the lies about how global warming is the worst problem man-kind is facing is ok?

[MichaelJames]

You say there is no crisis, but if all the money was taken for tax cuts for the rich and the money needs to get back into the trust, how is it not a crisis since we don't really have the money anymore? At a minimum, it's the precursor to a crisis, isn't it?

Also, however anyone wants to move the money around on the accounting books, unless something drasticall changes, there will be more retirees drawing benefits and not as many workers paying into the system. Sure, it may be fine for many years, but something will have to give eventually.