John,

Tomorrow, Social Security’s Board of Trustees will release its annual report on the health of our Social Security system. Every year, corporate friendly politicians use the report as fodder for calls to make “tough choices” about Social Security and Medicare―choices that always preserve tax breaks for billionaires while forcing seniors and people with disabilities to make do with less.

Social Security Works has led the campaign to fight back against this Wall Street-funded misinformation. It has been enormously successful―but we need your support to keep the fight going this year. Can you chip in $7 today?

Here’s what the Trustees Report will show:

1. Social Security has a large accumulated surplus

2. Social Security is extremely affordable, and will remain so for the foreseeable future

3. The real threat is the hostility of Republicans in Congress

The report won’t come out and state that third point, of course. But the only reason to support cutting, instead of increasing, Social Security’s modest benefits is to protect the wealthy from paying their fair share.

Support for expanding our Social Security system is bipartisan in the way that matters: it’s supported by voters regardless of party.¹ Cutting benefits, on the other hand, goes against the wishes of 88% of Americans!² No wonder Republicans won’t give a straight answer on what their plan is.

The actions of Republican politicians, though, speak loudly:

• The most recent budget of the Republican Study Committee, which consists of about three-quarters of the House Republicans, includes numerous deep cuts to both Social Security and Medicare.³ The full House Republican caucus has declined to release another budget.⁴

• The chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, Rep. Jason Smith, has said he wants to use the debt limit to force cuts to Social Security and Medicare.⁵

• Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has openly stated his clear goal of fully repealing Social Security.⁶

• Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) released a plan that even Mitch McConnell described as a plan to “sunset Social Security and Medicare” after 5 years.⁷ Though Scott denies this accusation, his company committed the largest Medicare fraud in history, so he doesn’t have much credibility.⁸

• Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) went further than Senator Scott, calling for Social Security and Medicare to need reauthorization every year, setting up a new, annual hostage crisis.⁹

• Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) ran for President while calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare,¹⁰ and has since introduced a bill to fast-track a closed-door commission that would have the power to cut Social Security.¹¹

• At this moment, Republican presidential candidates from Ron DeSantis¹² to Nikki Haley¹³ to Mike Pence¹⁴ are calling for cutting Social Security.

• Even Donald Trump, the front-runner, proposed billions in cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in each of his budgets.¹⁵ His administration began a stealth privatization of Medicare¹⁶ and he unilaterally eliminated Social Security’s dedicated funding¹⁷ (which has since been restored, fortunately).

Democrats, meanwhile, have released a plan that expands benefits substantially by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share―while also extending the lifespan of the Social Security trust fund by at least 75 years.

We have the receipts. Can you chip in 7 to help us push back against Wall Street misinformation and inform voters that Republicans are the real threat to our Social Security system?

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Thanks,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works

¹ https://socialsecurityworks.org/2022/08/03/social-security-polling/
² https://www.axios.com/2023/03/16/two-americas-index-social-security-medicare
³ https://banks.house.gov/uploadedfiles/rsc_2023_budget_final_version.pdf
⁴ https://punchbowl.news/archive/32823-punchbowl-news-midday/
⁵ https://about.bgov.com/news/entitlement-spending-cap-plans-linked-by-gop-to-debt-limit-deal/
⁶ https://twitter.com/SSWorks/status/1623386460048039937?lang=en
⁷ https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/27/rick-scott-senate-agenda-roberts-00020694
⁸ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2014/mar/03/florida-democratic-party/rick-scott-rick-scott-oversaw-largest-medicare-fra/
⁹ https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/03/ron-johnson-medicare-social-security/
¹⁰ https://www.pressherald.com/2012/02/25/romney-raise-retirement-age/
¹¹ https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/478929-the-trust-act-is-a-plot-to-gut-social-security-behind-closed/
¹² https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/politics/kfile-ron-desantis-privatize-social-security-medicare/index.html
¹³ https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikki-haley-wants-to-raise-social-securitys-full-retirement-age-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-fra-now-70f36ad
¹⁴ https://www.salon.com/2023/02/06/mike-pence-calls-for-privatizing-social-security-they-keep-saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud_partner/
¹⁵ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/09/trump-desantis-biden-social-security-medicare/
¹⁶ https://socialsecurityworks.org/direct-contracting-reach-a-backdoor-medicare-privatization-scheme/
¹⁷ https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trumps-plan-defund-social-security/