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GOP ‘Plot to Gut Social Security Behind Closed Doors’ Gains Steam in Senate Covid-19 Talks 

GOP ‘Plot to Gut Social Security Behind Closed Doors’ Gains Steam in Senate Covid-19 Talks

“With seniors most at risk from Covid-19, we need to be increasing Social Security’s modest benefits, not creating secret commissions to cut them.”

by Jake Johnson

A proposal by Sen. Mitt Romney to establish congressional committees with the specific goal of crafting legislative “solutions” for America’s federal trust fund programs has reportedly resurfaced in GOP talks over the next Covid-19 stimulus package, sparking alarm among progressive advocates who warn the Utah Republican’s bill is nothing but a stealth attack on Social Security and Medicare.

Politico‘s Burgess Everett reported Wednesday that Romney’s TRUST Act, first introduced last October with the backing of a bipartisan group of senators, “is getting a positive reception from Senate Republicans” in coronavirus relief discussions, which are still in their early stages. The legislation, Everett noted, “could become part of the mix” for the next Covid-19 stimulus as Republicans once again claim to be concerned about the growing budget deficit.

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), told Common Dreams in an interview that he is not at all surprised to see Romney’s bill crop up again and said it should be diligently opposed.

“Obviously this is a way to push in cuts Social Security and Medicare without leaving fingerprints.”
—Max Richtman, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

NCPSSM vocally condemned the TRUST Act when it was unveiled last year, warning that—if passed—the measure “would likely result in cuts to the earned benefits of seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors.”

Richtman noted that in a House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee roundtable discussion this week, the idea of establishing commissions to study possible changes to Social Security—though not Romney’s bill specifically—was floated by GOP members, an indication that the New Deal-era program is very much on the minds, and potentially in the crosshairs, of Republican lawmakers.

“Social Security is the piggy bank that Republicans seem to go to whenever it dawns on them that we’ve gotta do something about the debt,” Richtman said, “notwithstanding the fact that they passed a huge tax cut that added trillions to the debt and benefited mostly wealthy individuals and corporations.”

Speaking to Politico this week, two Republican congressmen—Reps. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Steve Womack (R-Ark.)—cited the coronavirus pandemic’s possible effects on Social Security to call for a commission to study the program and recommend reforms. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), meanwhile, is pushing for an expansion of benefits funded by lifting the payroll tax cap, which would make wealthier Americans pay more.

“I don’t know when we’re going to decide to take up the issue,” said Womack. “I hope and I pray that it’s not when we have no other real options other than something draconian like big cuts.”

Richtman warned that in the near future the public is likely “going to start hearing more and more” GOP proposals to cut Social Security under the guise of “entitlement reform” as the party suddenly rediscovers its concern for the mounting deficit.

“Obviously this is a way to push in cuts to Social Security and Medicare without leaving fingerprints, or not many fingerprints,” Richtman said of the TRUST Act.

Romney’s legislation—which currently has 10 Senate co-sponsors, including five Democrats—would give the Treasury Department 45 days to present Congress with a report on the federal government’s “endangered” trust funds. Congress would then establish one “rescue committee” per trust fund with a “mandate to draft legislation that restores solvency and otherwise improves each trust fund program.”

“If a Rescue Committee reports a qualifying bill for its trust fund program, it would receive expedited consideration in both chambers,” according to a summary of Romney’s bill. “While 60 votes would be required to invoke cloture for final passage in the Senate, only a simple majority would be needed for the motion to proceed, which would be privileged.”

“If Republicans cared about the American people, especially seniors, they’d be passing legislation to get PPE to essential workers, help the unemployed, and rush assistance to the nursing homes that are turning into death traps.”
—Alex Lawson, Social Security Works

The Utah Republican’s role as lead sponsor of the TRUST Act was sufficient reason for activists to raise serious concerns about the bill’s intentions when it was first unveiled last year.

During his 2012 presidential run, Romney proposed raising the Social Security retirement age and privatizing Medicare. Romney’s running mate, former House Speaker Paul Ryan, was long considered the poster child for Republican efforts to gut what’s left of America’s social safety net.

Romney’s bill was endorsed by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, the leaders of the notorious Obama-era commission that—among other sweeping changes—recommended raising Social Security’s eligibility age and slashing benefits.

“The last thing seniors need is for Mitt Romney to get his hands on Social Security,” Richtman said in October.

Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, warned in a tweet on Wednesday that the TRUST Act is “a plot to gut Social Security behind closed doors.” The group told Common Dreams that it is closely monitoring Senate talks and actions related Romney’s bill.

Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, said in an emailed statement to Common Dreams that “at a time when current Republican policy is to let seniors die of Covid-19 by the tens of thousands without lifting a finger to help, it is beyond shameful that Mitt Romney’s focus is to rob those same older Americans of their earned Social Security and Medicare benefits.”

“Romney’s TRUST Act would create a fast-track, closed door commission to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Lawson said. “If Republicans cared about the American people, especially seniors, they’d be passing legislation to get PPE to essential workers, help the unemployed, and rush assistance to the nursing homes that are turning into death traps.”

“Instead,” Lawson added, “they are focused on using this pandemic as an excuse to gut our most popular and effective government programs.”

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Source: GOP ‘Plot to Gut Social Security Behind Closed Doors’ Gains Steam in Senate Covid-19 Talks | Common Dreams News

 

 

 

The Trump Administration’s “Monstrous Idea”: Direct Payments in Exchange for Cuts to Social Security Benefits 

The Trump Administration’s “Monstrous Idea”: Direct Payments in Exchange for Cuts to Social Security Benefits

“Donald Trump and his administration will stop at nothing to cut Social Security.”

byJake Johnson

Suddenly concerned about the growing national debt now that corporations have secured access to trillions of dollars in Covid-19 bailout funds with little oversight, Trump administration officials are reportedly considering several proposals purportedly aimed at reducing government spending—including a pair of plans that would provide Americans with cash payments in exchange for delays or cuts to their Social Security benefits.

“Social Security is an earned insurance benefit. It is not a piggy bank. This plan, and any plan that raids Social Security, is a moral abomination.”
—Alex Lawson, Social Security Works

In addition to weighing a push for automatic federal spending cuts that would take effect once the economy rebounds from the coronavirus crisis, Washington Post reported Sunday that top White House economic officials are “exploring a proposal floated by two conservative scholars that would allow Americans to choose to receive checks of up to $5,000 in exchange for a delay of their Social Security benefits.”

Senior administration officials have also “discussed the ‘Eagle Plan,’ a 29-page memo that called for an overhaul of federal retirement programs in exchange for upfront payments to some workers,”  according to the Post. “The proposal calls for giving Americans $10,000 upfront in exchange for curbing their federal retirement benefits, such as Social Security.”

The “Eagle Plan” was crafted by a State Department official close to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who forwarded the proposal to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Art Laffer, a conservative economist and Trump adviser, told the Post that he supports the proposal.

Alex Lawson, executive director of advocacy group Social Security Works, said in a statement Monday that the plan would “force people to choose: Go hungry today or work until you die.”

“The Trump administration is obsessed with using the coronavirus crisis to undermine our Social Security system,” said Lawson. “Social Security is an earned insurance benefit. It is not a piggy bank. This plan, and any plan that raids Social Security, is a moral abomination. Instead of trying to steal the earned benefits of desperate people, the government should be sending $2,000 a month to everyone in America, as Democrats in Congress have proposed.” 

Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, indicated that Trump is opposed to the ideas laid out in the “Eagle Plan”—which he described as “ludicrous on its face”—but the Post reported that the president has not reviewed the proposal.

After vowing during his 2016 presidential run to shield Social Security and Medicare from cuts, Trump has proposed slashing both programs in his annual budget blueprints. Trump also said during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that he would consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare if reelected in November.

Amid a global pandemic that has left more than 30 million people in the U.S. jobless, Trump’s top economic stimulus idea has been cutting the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare. The president said during a Fox News town hall last week that he would not sign any future Covid-19 stimulus package that does not include a payroll tax cut.

“Donald Trump and his administration will stop at nothing to cut Social Security,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

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Source: The Trump Administration’s “Monstrous Idea”: Direct Payments in Exchange for Cuts to Social Security Benefits | Common Dreams News

 

 

Millions of Pigs and Chickens in US Factory Farms Face Cruel Deaths as Covid-19 Sparks Mass Cullings 

Millions of Pigs and Chickens in US Factory Farms Face Cruel Deaths as Covid-19 Sparks Mass Cullings

“Plants that don’t treat animals well often don’t treat workers well.”

by Eoin Higgins

As the coronavirus outbreak puts pressure on meat-packing plants and food supply chains across the U.S., millions of pigs and chickens are being cruelly put to death in the nation’s factory farms—with animals being intentionally suffocated in layers of foam or by having their ventilation cut off.

“It is a black swan event,” agriculture consultant Adam Speck told the Guardian. “There are hogs available. We are full to the brim. But when we are down about 23% in hog harvesting capacity and we can’t process at normal rates, then the only option is to depopulate.”

The term “depopulate” is a meat industry term that refers to the mass killing, or culling, of animals. According to Leah Garcés of the group Mercy for Animals, the methods used to kill the creatures—though approved (pdf) by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)—are extreme and inhumane. 

As the Guardian reported:

In a letter this month to leading poultry companies, Mercy for Animals called AVMA culling methods—which include water-based foam generators, whole-house gassing and ventilation shutdown—inhumane.

Foaming means covering hens with a layer of foam that blocks their airways, gradually suffocating them over several minutes. Ventilation shutdown, meanwhile, although described by the AVMA as “not preferred,” is one of the cruellest, but cheapest options, said Garcés. “Shutting down broiler chicken house ventilation systems means animals die of organ failure due to overheating, as temperatures quickly rise.”

“Foam is a horribly inhumane way to kill birds,” poultry scientist Dr. Ian Duncan said of the practice in 2006. “You can’t tell if they are suffering or vocalizing because they are covered up.”

According to Mercy for Animals:

Another inhumane method of killing unwanted animals is “thumping,” where workers kill piglets by slamming them headfirst into the ground. Undercover investigators with Mercy For Animals have documented this barbaric practice numerous times.

In a story on Monday, Reuters noted that the sheer numbers of creatures being killed are hard to fathom as tens of thousands of chickens are being culled at a single farm.

The news outlet also reported on the treatment of young hogs:

In Iowa, farmer Dean Meyer said he is part of a group of about nine producers who are euthanizing the smallest 5% of their newly born pigs, or about 125 piglets a week. They will continue euthanizing animals until disruptions ease, and could increase the number of pigs killed each week, he said. The small bodies are composted and will become fertilizer.

As Common Dreams reported, President Donald Trump in an executive order Tuesday declared meat packing plants “critical infrastructure” and ordered them to remain open as concerns continue to mount over the medium to long term prospects for the country’s food supply. But critics noted that the move was more aimed at maintaining the profits of agribusiness than at providing people with food and that worker safety at the plants did not appear to be a priority to the administration. 

“The meatpacking industry is already one of the most dangerous industries in the United States, with injury rates twice the national average and illness rates 15 times the national average,” the National  Employment Law Project’s worker safety and health program director Debbie Berkowitz said in a statement late Tuesday. “The black, brown, immigrant, and refugee workers who are disproportionately represented in the meatpacking industry will bear the brunt of this dangerous decision.”

In a statement Wednesday, the Animal Welfare Institute’s farm animal program director Dena Jones warned that worker safety and animal treatment at meat processing plants often go hand-in-hand.

“In our experience, plants that don’t treat animals well often don’t treat workers well,” said Jones. “It’s a reflection of management placing profits over the well-being of the living resources that make those profits possible.”

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Source: Millions of Pigs and Chickens in US Factory Farms Face Cruel Deaths as Covid-19 Sparks Mass Cullings | Common Dreams News