[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens urge rejection of 'Catfood Commission' plan to reduce Social Security, Medicare

[Green Party of California Updates]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
URL of release: http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=370

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, November 30, 2010



Green Party urges rejection of proposal by Obama's Fiscal Responsibility
Commission to scale back Social Security and Medicare

• Greens: Commission's linking of Social Security and the budget deficit is
deceptive; deficit crisis can solved by withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and
Afghanistan, cutting the military budget, and canceling tax breaks for the wealthy

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on Social Security
and Medicare
http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-economic-justice.php
http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-health-care.php

• Green Party's 2001 Election Recap and Results:
http://www.gp.org/elections/results-2010.php
Green Party ballot status page: http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders called on Congress and the American
people to reject a proposal by President Obama's Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform to scale back Social Security and require Medicare
recipients to pay more out-of-pocket costs for services.

Greens said that the bipartisan commission's recommendations, if supported by
Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats, would amount to a betrayal of voters, and
called the attempt to link spending on Social Security with the deficit a
deception.

• Starlene Rankin, co-chair of the Green Party's Lavender Green Caucus:
"Taking an ax to Social Security does nothing to close the federal budget
deficit, because Social Security is a separate account.  If President Obama
and Congress really want to reduce the deficit, they should begin by ending
the war in Afghanistan and occupation of Iraq, ordering all troops and
military contractors home, and reducing the military budget.  The debt was
caused by the two wars, bloated military budgets, tax breaks for rich people,
and the huge Wall Street bailouts."

• Julia Willebrand, 2010 Green candidate for New York State Comptroller and
Social Security recipient:  "Powerful lobbies want to turn Social Security
into a feeding trough.  Congress and the White House are under heavy pressure
from the financial industry to scale back Social Security, which would have
the effect of privatizing it, by driving people to invest more of their
retirement savings in the Wall Street casino.  Indexing Social Security to
life expectancy and raising the age for recipients would place more older
Americans in competition with younger people for jobs and depress wages for
everyone."

• Mike Feinstein, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States:  "Placing
greater financial burden on Medicare recipients would reduce access to
urgently needed medical treatment.  Most Americans prefer greater stronger
government involvement and protections for health care, not less (AP poll,
Sept. 26, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11725663).  Voters in
2010 overwhelmingly reelected Congress members who co-sponsored legislation
for Medicare For All -- single-payer national health care, which the Green
Party supports
(http://beavercountyblue.org/2010/11/04/medicare-for-all-co-sponsors-returned-to-congress-by-big-margins/)."

• Holly Hart, secretary of the Green Party of the United States:  "Social
Security will be fully solvent for the next 27 years, as economist Dean Baker
and others have noted and contrary to statements from Democratic and
Republican politicians and the media.  Any projected shortfall could be offset
if the White House and Congress abolished the cap for top-income earners
paying into the system.  Most working Americans pay 6.2% FICA tax on their
entire incomes.  The top 6% pay FICA only on their first $106,800.  If we
cancel the cap and maintain present benefits levels, the surplus will
continue, even after 2037. This idea has support from a majority of Americans,
even Republicans."  (Source: Gallup Poll, July 2010,
http://www.gallup.com/poll/141611/Americans-Look-Wealthy-Help-Save-Social-Security.aspx)

• Darryl L.C. Moch, member of the DC Statehood Green Party and the Green Party
Black Caucus:  "The Commission's recommendation that Social Security be made
more progressive, by increasing benefits for middle- and low-income wage
earners while reducing benefits for the very top brackets, is a good idea.
But this should be done in the context of strengthening Social Security, not
making cuts or tying it to the deficit.  Democrats and Republicans are
sacrificing financial security for working people and help for poor people to
subsidize wars and Wall Street.  Greens have repeatedly warned that the
Democrats, in their deluded attempt to appeal to the 'center' and appease the
GOP, would be the first to begin dismantling Social Security and Medicare -- a
long-range Republican goal -- and the Catfood Commission proves that Greens
are right."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

"Action on Social Security: The Urgent Need for Delay"
By Dean Baker, Center for Economic  and Policy Research, November 2010
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/action-on-social-security-the-urgent-need-for-delay

Healthcare-NOW!
http://www.healthcare-now.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the
United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


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