This week, Joe Biden and Congress intervened on behalf of railroad corporations to force a contract onto workers who deserved better. Rather than the seven sick days that every other federal contractor is entitled to, and which the union was demanding, railroad corporations offered just one.

Most chillingly, the fight over railroad employment contracts was a preview of the showdown over the debt ceiling.

On MSNBC, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended the action by highlighting the numerous downsides to a rail strike.¹ Every word he said was true―a rail strike could cripple the American economy. But instead of using that to force fair employment conditions on railroad corporations with billions of dollars in profits, the administration and Congress used it as a reason to grasp at any solution offered―no matter how inhumane.

Failure to raise the debt ceiling would be even more calamitous than a rail strike―and Republicans are preparing to demand cuts to Social Security and Medicare², no matter how unpopular that is with the American people. Instead of begging when it’s too late, Democrats should take action immediately to prevent the crisis by raising the debt ceiling now. They have one final “lame duck” session of Congress before the GOP House Majority takes over.

Sign now: Tell Democrats to protect Social Security and Medicare by raising the debt ceiling now!

In solidarity,

Michael Phelan
Social Security Works

¹ https://twitter.com/CaseStudyQB/status/1598369413169876995
² https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-29/gop-s-thune-sees-debt-ceiling-hike-as-vehicle-for-budget-cuts?srnd=politics-vp