Protect Social Security, not the 1%

Representatives Rick Larsen and Jim McDermott have signed the Ciccline letter “Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index should not be used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits.”  And Rep. McDermott has signed several other  letters in support of Social Security (see table below).

But no Washington State House member has signed the Grayson-Takano letter which states: “We will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.” See  http://other98.com/take-the-no-cuts-to-social-security-pledge/#wa.

There is no expectation that Republicans would oppose cuts to Social Security, but it is disturbing that not even Jim McDermott has signed the Grayson-Takano letter, given that Social Security has not contributed a penny to the deficits and given that rich corporations enjoy numerous tax breaks, no-bid contracts, bailouts, and other forms of government largesse (including the trillions of dollars wasted in disastrous wars, military spending and the security apparatus).

So-called “centrist” Democrats such as Adam Smith and Suzan DelBene are members of the business-friendly New Democrats, not the Progressive Caucus.   They have shown lukewarm support for Social Security.   If you speak with them they portray themselves as being “responsible” stewards of the economy, willing to push back against constituents’ requests for handouts.  But Social Security is no handout.  We earned and paid for it, and it has not contributed to the deficit.   Yes,  centrist Dems are better than Republicans (in the way that Rodney Tom and Barack Obama are better than Republicans), but that’s not setting a very high bar for Democrats. See Adam Smith and Suzan DelBene defend their votes on Social Security and the budget.

Our lawmakers should know: King County Dems resolve to withhold endorsement from candidates who advocate cuts to Social Security.

Here are the names and phone numbers of Washington State’s Congressional delegation. Please call and ask them to defend Social Security.

Source:  http://other98.com/take-the-no-cuts-to-social-security-pledge/#wa