Of Welfare Reform And Eating The Rich

Read to the end about what happened in Maine & Kansas when slight welfare reform was required. Its mind blowing. https://t.co/mJFlMkI5PD

— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) January 6, 2018

Gun owners across America have scored a significant victory! NRA Wins Victory as Congress Reverses Obama's Social Security Gun Grab

◼ The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) today scored a significant victory when Congress agreed to review a final rule by the Obama administration that would wrongly strip law-abiding Americans of their Second Amendment rights.

“Congress's decision to review the Obama administration's back-door gun grab is a significant step forward in restoring the fundamental constitutional rights of many law-abiding gun owners,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA. "The NRA has been fighting this unconstitutional government overreach since it was first discussed and we look forward to swift congressional action to overturn it." ...

Obama Yanks Second Amendment Rights from SSI Recipients

Grandma Got Run Over by Obama: #SSA Finalizes New Gun Prohibition Rule https://t.co/7PfTAT6Jde @NRAILA @NRA #Obama #SSAGunGrab #2A #NRA pic.twitter.com/q9pR2yb9CQ

— Support NRA-ILA (@SupportNRAILA) December 24, 2016

The SSA, for the first time in its history, will be coopted into the federal government’s gun control apparatus, effectively requiring Social Security applicants to weigh their need for benefits against their fundamental rights when applying for assistance based on mental health problems

Barack Obama’s political party and the presidential candidate he personally endorsed and campaigned for suffered perhaps the most dramatic rebuke in the history of American politics with the election of Donald J. Trump. Far from being humbled or chastened, however, Obama is spending the waning days of his presidency releasing duly convicted felons from prison, making low-level appointments, and pushing pet policy projects, all to do something, anything, to leave his stamp after a lackluster tenure.

The Social Security rule is the final version of a proposal that we reported on earlier this year. Public outcry against the proposed rule was fierce, and the comment period drew over 91,000 responses, the vast majority of them opposing the plan.

The NRA itself submitted detailed comments, taking the proposed rule to task for its many legal problems, its lack of empirical support, and the way it would politicize the SSA’s functions and stigmatize its beneficiaries.

The SSA, however, essentially ignored the NRA’s comments and the tens of thousands of others pointing out problems with the plan and issued a final rule that in most key respects tracks the original proposal....

Obama Admin Yanks Second Amendment Rights from SSI Recipients https://t.co/olAy44IyMA #trending pic.twitter.com/q9jqBvU38k

— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) December 28, 2016

Is it better to claim Social Security retirement benefits at 62, or to delay claiming benefits until later at 70?

Is it better to claim Social Security retirement benefits at 62, or to delay claiming benefits until later at 70? https://t.co/Dw52N004oJ

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 24, 2015

Greenspan says social welfare 'extremely dangerous.' Agreed. Let's begin by slashing corporate welfare first.

Alan Greenspan said one issue is more important to the U.S. economy now than monetary policy: http://t.co/I4m5hIPUvZ pic.twitter.com/8b2t4GFXaI

— CNBC (@CNBC) July 29, 2015

Greenspan says social welfare 'extremely dangerous.' Agreed. Let's begin by slashing corporate welfare first. http://t.co/bheLSTz9fD

— Jerry Robinson (@FTMDaily) July 30, 2015

GREENSPAN SOUNDS ALARM ON GOV'T SPENDING... http://t.co/L0fsdHxd3z

— SavageNation (@SavageNation) July 30, 2015

Social security fund will run dry next year

Social security fund will run dry next year http://t.co/GwgvbaaO2E pic.twitter.com/7x1CTK5m76

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) July 23, 2015

Medicare is still treading financial water http://t.co/ShcAeGCFcW | Getty pic.twitter.com/kTCmx3mwfR

— POLITICO (@politico) July 23, 2015

Obama Just Tried To Rewrite History Straight To Jon Stewart's Face About This HUGE Scandal http://t.co/v23G3vDQSF

— David Jones (@davidjones720) July 23, 2015

Does Obama Have Authority to Unilaterally Give Illegals Social Security Numbers? Sen. Heller: ‘I Don’t Have An Answer’

◼ On Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked Heller: “A federal court has said giving Social Security Numbers to illegal aliens is not prosecutorial discretion. Does the president have the power to unilaterally give Social Security Numbers to illegal aliens?” - Cybercast News Service

The House Just Made It Harder for Politicians to Steal From Social Security Retirement Fund

◼ This Tuesday, House Republicans nearly unanimously adopted new rules for the 114th Congress (H. Res. 5) which set the stage for long overdue Social Security reforms to protect disabled Americans and seniors from indiscriminate benefit cuts. - Romina Boccia/Daily Signal

The new rule strengthens the integrity of Social Security’s separate trust funds (disability and retirement) by putting a procedural barrier in place to prevent lawmakers from raiding retirement funds to shore up the bleeding disability trust fund. Page 32 of H. Res. 5 adds a point of order against weakening either trust fund, unless the changes result in an overall improvement to Social Security’s combined trust funds.

This change sets the stage for comprehensive Social Security reform in the 114th Congress....KEEP READING

Chart: Social Security to Become Insolvent Far Earlier Than Expected

◼ According to research by policy experts Rachel Greszler and James M. Roberts at The Heritage Foundation, Social Security’s end-date is fast approaching, calculated to arrive far earlier than originally expected. - MRC TV

“Social Security’s trustees projected in 1983 that the recently enacted Social Security reforms would keep the program active for at least the next 75 years, through 2058,” reports The Daily Signal.

With each successive annual Social Security Administration (SSA) report, however, the federal program’s approach date has accelerated, Heritage experts find.

Obamacare offers firms $3,000 incentive to hire illegals over native-born workers

◼ Illegals to receive Social Security, Medicare under Obama plan - Washington Post

Under President Obama’s new program to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, many of those affected will be eligible to receive Social Security, Medicare and a wide array of other federal benefits, a White House official said Tuesday....

For those who work, that includes payroll taxes, also known as FICA taxes, because they are collected under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act.

The tax payments are usually split between employer and employee and include 12.4 percent collected to pay for Social Security, as well as 2.9 percent to pay for Medicare.

Federal law says that people who pay the taxes and are deemed “lawfully present in the United States” can collect benefits under those programs when they become eligible. They may also receive survivor and disability benefits.

“If they pay in, they can draw,” White House spokesman Shawn Turner said by e-mail....

◼ But: Under the president’s new amnesty, businesses will have a $3,000-per-employee incentive to hire illegal immigrants over native-born workers because of a quirk of Obamacare. - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times

President Obama’s temporary amnesty, which lasts three years, declares up to 5 million illegal immigrants to be lawfully in the country and eligible for work permits, but it still deems them ineligible for public benefits such as buying insurance on Obamacare’s health exchanges.

Under the Affordable Care Act, that means businesses who hire them won’t have to pay a penalty for not providing them health coverage — making them $3,000 more attractive than a similar native-born worker, whom the business by law would have to cover.

5 Big Issues Where Voters Trust Republicans More than Democrats

◼ Voters trust GOP the most on economy but not on entitlements - Susan Ferrechio/Washington Examiner

...On taxes, voters favored Republicans 48 percent to 42 percent. On foreign policy, Republicans ruled again, 50 percent to 40 percent. On the federal budget and spending, the gap was even wider, 51 percent to 38 percent in favor of Republicans.

The most troubling number for Democrats concerned the economy. Republicans were favored by likely voters over Democrats, 49 percent to 42 percent.

Economic issues still rank No. 1 when it comes to voter concerns, according to an August Gallup Poll.

The two parties were nearly tied on jobs, with Republicans at 47 percent and Democrats 46 percent. They also tied on “solving problems,” with Republicans at 40 percent and Democrats at 41 percent....

And Here’s Another Time When The White House Asked Someone to Lie on Sunday News Shows

◼ Geithner claims Obama adviser suggested he mislead public - Megyn Kelly/FOX With: Judge Andrew Napolitano

KELLY: Yes, Geithner said I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it.

NAPOLITANO: Geithner said I'm not going to do it. And Pfeiffer said, you have to do it. It will be a dog whistle to the left. Meaning, it will send a signal to our left wing base that we're still with them, a signal in the form of a lie. Now this could not have come out at the worst time for this administration.

KELLY: So now, Mr. Geithner testifies in his book that he refused to do it, however, lest you have any doubt about what the democratic talking points were on this issue, listen to who would do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. DICK DURBIN, D-ILL., "MEET THE PRESS"/NBC, FEB. 20, 2011: Social Security does not add one penny to the deficit.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y., "MORNING JOE"/MSNBC, NOV. 9, 2012: I think on Social Security, you'll find more resistance for one reason, it's not part of the deficit.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT., "ED SHOW"/MSNBC, NOV. 8, 2012 : We're not going to cut Social Security, which by the way, as Harry Reid just reminded us, has nothing to do with the deficit.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

NAPOLITANO: Wow.

KELLY: Right? So, they got the memo.

NAPOLITANO: Those are great gets. They obviously got the memo and they didn't have the sense of integrity or fear of lying that Tim Geithner had.

◼ Many on the left are outraged, outraged I tell you, that conservatives would have the audacity to actually accuse the White House of sending out a representative to lie on Sunday talk shows in order to push their political agenda. Oh wait, here’s former Treasury Secretary Timmy Geithner saying that’s exactly what they tried to make him do: - IJ Review

“I remember during one Roosevelt Room prep session before I appeared on the Sunday shows, I objected when Dan Pfeiffer wanted me to say Social Security didn’t contribute to the deficit. It wasn’t a main driver of our future deficits, but it did contribute. Pfeiffer said the line was a ‘dog whistle’ to the left, a phrase I had never heard before. He had to explain that the phrase was code to the Democratic base, signaling that we intended to protect Social Security.” (p. 458-9, 467)

◼ Tim Geithner: The White House Asked Me to Mislead the Public - FOX

The White House wanted Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to lie on Sunday talk shows to downplay the part Social Security played in driving the deficit, it was revealed today.

Geithner writes in his memoir Stress Test, out today, that the White House communications director asked him to downplay the long term cost of Social Security spending to mollify the Democratic Party's base.

◼ White House wanted Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to LIE to the public about social security being behind the deficit - Daily Mail

Geithner's anecdote about White House communications staff trying pressure him into misleading Americans about the country's ability to meet its future financial obligations once again casts a shadow on the Obama administration's willingness to tell the truth when the truth is politically unappealing.

He writes that Pfeiffer, who is now Obama's senior communications adviser, often let party politics come into play when discussing how the administration should respond to fiscal issues.
During a discussion on spending cuts, Geithner says that Pfieffer argued that 'we couldn't afford to alienate our base and split a weakened Democratic Party in pursuit of an imaginary compromise with Republicans who didn't want to compromise.'

Progressive activists still talk as if we can afford any level of social service expenditures if we raise taxes on the rich, but workers can’t be created by raising taxes. Everything that the left has done, from breaking up the family to driving out manufacturing industries to promoting Third World immigration has made its own social welfare spending completely unsustainable.

◼ The Coming Collapse of the Welfare State - Daniel Greenfield/Front Page

Liberals and libertarians both act as if the crisis facing us can be fixed if we take more from the “wealthy elderly” or give them less. The crisis is born of demographics. It can’t be fixed by targeting the elderly because they haven’t been the problem in some time....

The welfare state has been spending more money with an unsustainable demographic imbalance. There are fewer working families supporting more elderly, immigrants and broken families. The Russians invest money into increasing the native birth rate. Instead we fund Planned Parenthood because liberal economic eugenics dictates that we should extract “full value” from working women as a tax base to subsidize the welfare state while discarding the next generation.

The “modern” system that we have adopted with its low birth rates, high social spending and retirement benefits is at odds with itself. We can have low birth rates, deficit spending or Social Security; but there is no possible way that we can have all three.

And yet we have all three.

...After a century of misery, the left still hasn’t learned that there is no substitute for the middle class. It’s not just running out of money, it’s running out of people.

The welfare state has no future. It is only a question of what terms it will implode on and what will happen to the social welfare political infrastructure when it does. The violence in Venezuela and the slow death of Detroit give us insights into the coming collapse of the welfare state.

Federal Government Has Declared War On Work

◼ While 50 years ago the federal government declared war on poverty, I would submit that in recent years it has led an undeclared but real new war: a War on Work. The government increasingly is using its coercive powers to punish people who want to work, creating a vast class of able-bodied Americans dependent on the government — and politicians — for their daily bread. - Richard Vedder/IBD

While a vast number of government policies cause a decline in work, let me mention just six:

• Extended unemployment benefits.
• Expansion of food stamps.
• Higher taxes on workers, especially the most productive ones.
• Increases in Social Security disability payments.
• Increases in Pell Grants and other forms of federal higher education aid.
• Increases in minimum wage laws at local, state and federal levels.

...No nation ever achieved greatness when vast portions of its productive workforce were idle. America will not regain its economic vitality until it ends this war on work.

Obama threatens to withhold Social Security Checks

◼ Obama Just Played His Big 'Trump Card' On The Debt Ceiling - Business Insider

Boehner pans Obama’s offer to trade Social Security change for tax hikes

◼ House Speaker John Boehner preemptively rejected President Obama's call for more tax hikes Friday, after administration officials revealed the president's upcoming budget would tie tax hikes to changes in Social Security and other benefit programs. - FOX

The administration made clear that it is offering changes to Social Security and Medicare -- the two benefit programs most important to seniors -- in order to convince Republicans to accept increased revenues. The official said the plan to be unveiled next week "isn't a menu of options for them to choose from -- it's a cohesive package."

But Boehner bristled at the demand, noting that the president and his party already extracted tax increases on top earners as part of the deal to avert the fiscal crisis at the end of 2012.

"In the end, the president got his tax hikes on the wealthy with no corresponding spending cuts. At some point we need to solve our spending problem, and what the president has offered would leave us with a budget that never balances. In reality, he's moved in the wrong direction, routinely taking off the table entitlement reforms he's previously told me he could support," Boehner said.

Democrats have argued the recently enacted sequester cuts too deep, and continue to press for tax increases to help close the deficit. Many Democrats oppose any drastic changes to entitlements. The inclusion of the Social Security provision by Obama was meant as a gesture to Republicans - and one that has already drawn the ire of liberal members of Congress.

◼ Left Furious With Obama For Backing Social Security Cuts - SAHIL KAPUR/Talking Points Memo

Liberals are mounting strong criticisms of President Obama amid news that his budget will include a Social Security benefit cut — an official endorsement of a policy compromise he’s offered Republicans for years — and warning Democrats not to dare vote to cut the cherished retirement program.

A trio of progressive advocacy groups issued scathing statements Friday in response to reports that Obama’s proposal will include a policy called “Chained CPI,” which would re-index Social Security cost of living increases to a lower rate of inflation — a benefit cut the president has included in deficit offers to Republicans since 2011.

“President Obama’s plan to cut Social Security would harm seniors who worked hard all their lives,” said MoveOn.org’s executive director Anna Galland. “That’s unconscionable. It’s even more outrageous given that Republicans in Congress aren’t even asking for this Social Security cut. This time, the drive to cut Social Security is being led by President Obama and Democrats.”

Stephanie Taylor of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee accused Obama of “proposing to steal thousands of dollars from grandparents and veterans” and threatened to subject any Democrat who votes for a Social Security benefit cut to a primary challenge.

“You can’t call yourself a Democrat and support Social Security benefit cuts,” Taylor said in a statement. “The President has no mandate to cut these benefits, and progressives will do everything possible to stop him.”

#WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeek

◼ Why is my paycheck less this week? A hashtag reality check for perplexed Obama voters - Twitchy

The price for having your head in the sand just went up. bit.ly/W7WuOi #tcot #tlot

— FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) January 3, 2013

#WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeekbecause Obama Phones and birth control are more important than reducing the debt.

— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) January 4, 2013

#WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeek what, did you think government programs were free? And neither are the Obamas' vacations

— Seamus T. Sweeney (@STSweeney5) January 5, 2013

#WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeek....Because Obamas Hawaii vacation cost us $20 Million

— Lisa McLean (@mclean_2) January 5, 2013

RT “@politixfireball: #WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeek Because you didn't do your homework before voting.”

— Debbie (@DebbieSue1210) January 5, 2013

#WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeek because before Nov 6, you were a useful idiot. Now you're just an idiot.

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) January 4, 2013

◼ Workers making $30,000 will take a bigger hit on their pay than those earning $500,000 under new fiscal deal- Hayley Peterson/Daily Mail

◼ Hope and less change: Americans cringe at first paychecks of 2013; Stunned lib asks, ‘What happened?’ - Twitchy

◼ Ha! Big Labor tries to hijack #WhyIsMyPaycheckLessThisWeek, gets hashtag wrong - Twitchy

The hashtag trended for much of Friday, making it irresistible to Big Labor Obama apologists eager to put their left-wing spin on smaller paychecks and Obama’s broken promises. But oopsie! They tried to hijack the wrong hashtag.

Working America, an AFL-CIO allied organization, published a post titled “The Answer to #WhyMyPaycheckIsLessThisWeek (Warning: Contains Facts).” Yep, the “is” is in the wrong place in that hashtag. But that didn’t stop the geniuses at SEIU and AFL-CIO from rushing to promote the post.

RT @seiu1021: The Answer to #WhyMyPaycheckIsLessThisWeek (Warning: Contains Facts) blog.workingamerica.org/2013/01/04/the… @workingamerica

— SEIU (@SEIU) January 5, 2013

RT @workingamerica: The Answer to #WhyMyPaycheckIsLessThisWeek (Warning: Contains Facts) bit.ly/UOgLwD #1u

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) January 4, 2013

Daily Kos: The Answer to #WhyMyPaycheckIsLessThisWeek (Warning: Contains Facts) ow.ly/gykkp #tcot #1u #p2

— Culinary Union 226 (@Culinary226) January 5, 2013

Awwww. Twitter is so hard. Better luck next time, guys.

◼ Crushed unicorn dreams: Why is my paycheck less turns to Obama vote regrets, ‘I should have voted Romney’ - Twitchy

Why didn't I vote for Romney!!! #payrolltax

— Diamond (@Diamondeez) January 4, 2013

Obama’s raid on Social Security ends with a whimper

◼ Contrary to all the hype about “saving” the middle class from tax increases, taxes did go up on people making less than $400,000 per year, as part of the fiscal cliff deal. The primary vehicle for this tax increase is the end of the 2 percent “payroll tax cut” implemented in 2010. - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

This was never a true “tax cut.” It was a raid of Social Security funding – a cut in the Social Security tax on employees from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. There was to be no corresponding loss of benefits to American workers who enjoyed this funding cut. Social Security doesn’t work that way anyway – it is falsely presented to the public as some kind of individual retirement account built up over a lifetime, but in fact it’s a straightforward welfare program, with current workers funding the benefits of current retirees. Congress ended up diverting funds from other areas to cover the shortfall, so those nervous about the solvency of Social Security – notably the AARP – tended to describe the payroll tax cut as a “threat” or “risk” to Social Security funding.

President Obama was strangely silent about the end of the payroll tax cut that he once defended so vigorously. In fact, he used to push for the extension of his tax cut with the same kind of overheated hyperbole and human stage props that he used during the fiscal cliff drama. In February 2012, he launched a Twitter hashtag called #40Dollars to whip up public support, named after the amount of money that would be taken from weekly paychecks if the tax cut expired. He marched a number of people who responded to his Twitter campaign on stage to declare, “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class. The last thing we need is for Washington to stand in the way of America’s comeback… this is the least of what we should be doing for working Americans.”

...The noisy life, and bizarrely quiet death, of the payroll tax cut should serve as another lesson in the folly of “temporary” tax cuts. Early critics of the measure said it was a gimmick that distracted the public from effective, permanent pro-growth tax reform, and it couldn’t be left on the books as a threat to Social Security funding forever. We live in a world of invincible, permanently growing government programs that can’t even be trimmed back, let alone killed when they prove to be failures, coupled with “temporary” tax cuts we lose unless we fight like wildcats to keep them… turning against each other in a panicked frenzy of class warfare when we’re told we can’t keep all of them. Enjoy those lighter paychecks, middle class Americans!

MONEY'S NO OBJECT: Obama heads back to Hawaii -- at taxpayer cost of $7 million...Left town without signing bill!

◼ Obama Returns to Hawaii at an Added Cost of Over $3 Million - White House Dossier

In a move that is rich in irony, President Obama agreed Tuesday night to sign an emergency deficit reduction bill that does almost nothing to rein in spending and then jetted out to Hawaii to resume his vacation at an extra cost of more than $3 million to taxpayers.

The price tag is in addition to more than $4 million that is already being spent on the Obamas’ Hawaii idyll, bringing the total cost of the excursion to well over $7 million.

The added cost was incurred because by the time the Obamas return from Hawaii – whenever that is – the president will have used Air Force One to travel to Honolulu and back twice.

◼ Obama In Hawaii, Fiscal Cliff Standoff Behind Him - CBS/DC

◼ Deal Means Higher Tax on 77% of Households...FEW SPARED: Average tax increase will be $1,635... - Bloomberg

More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said. A 2 percent payroll tax cut, enacted during the economic slowdown, is being allowed to expire as of yesterday.

The heaviest new burdens in 2013, compared with 2012, would fall on top earners, who would face higher rates on income, capital gains, dividends and estates. The top 1 percent of taxpayers, or those with incomes over $506,210, would pay an average of $73,633 more in taxes.

◼ Bosses: Don't blame us for smaller paychecks...

◼ CBO: 'Fiscal cliff' deal carries $4 trillion price tag over next decade - The Hill

◼ Paul Ryan votes 'yes'; Cantor 'no'... - yahoo



◼ GOP torn in half... - LA Times

◼ Reminder: Most Americans’ taxes are still going up - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin

While President Obama is taking credit for saving the middle class from tax increases, what isn’t being trumpeted across the land is that the Biden/McConnell deal did not include an extension of the payroll tax cut. This means that this year over three-quarters of earners will be paying — you guessed it — higher taxes... And let’s not forget to add the new Obamacare taxes to the mix — the same ones that even Democrats who voted for the law have admitted will be job killers. There will be no unaffected taxpayers.

A PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE FOR AMERICA'S YOUTH: Here's How You're Being Ripped Off

◼ My public service message is this: this money is being taken from your pay in exchange for a promise that will be broken in just a few years. You'll never see that money again. And it is the government -- the government, not "the rich", not the Koch brothers, not the oil companies -- that is ripping you off. - Doug Ross

It is the government, not corporations, spending untold billions on "green energy" scams like Solyndra. It is the government, not "the rich", slathering EBT-welfare cards around like confetti. And it is the government, not "the Tea Party", that is promoting illegal immigration and offering huge financial benefits to those in the country illegally. All with your money.

Unless you like being ripped off every week, I'd recommend you get involved in returning government to its rightful and proper role, which includes having Washington spend within its means -- like all of us must do to survive.