The lies pundits tell about cutting Social Security

If you pay close enough attention to moderate pundits in Washington, you will quickly realize they make no sense whatsoever. Especially when it comes to Social Security.<br /><br />Charles Pierce, author of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-America-Stupidity-Became-Virtue/dp/0767926153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383670690&sr=8-1&keywords=how+stupidity+became+a+virtue+-+charles+pierce+-+idiot+america" rel="nofollow">Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free</a>,</i> does a great takedown of pundits who appear on morning television. Writing in <a href="http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/ralph-reed-morning-joe-110413" rel="nofollow">Esquire,</a> he describes two people gossiping about politics as similar to "watching a seal and a goat recite Shakespeare."<br /><br />Pierce righteously excoriates much of what passes for political commentary in Washington, as well as the people who take it seriously. He reserves his best vitriol for Ralph Reed:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Ralph Reed is a con-man who would sell his gray-haired granny to the Somali pirates for fifty cents worth of consulting fees. He has nothing worth contributing to the national dialogue. This should be plain by now to all but the deliberately dim. </blockquote>Dale Coberly at the <a href="http://angrybearblog.com/2013/11/how-to-sound-insane-by-talking-like-a-bi-partisan-expert-on-social-security.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Hzoh+%28angrybearblog.com%29" rel="nofollow">Angry Bear</a> blog has a beef with moderate pundits who lie about the 'need' to cut Social Security. Here's how he describes their arguments:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Try to imagine you have to buy a medicine that will save your life. You need 100 pills, and the doctor firmly said, “Finish the Medicine…  if you stop too soon the infection will come back worse and you will die.” </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">So you go to the pharmacy and the pharmacist tells you the price of the medicine has gone up and your insurance will only pay for 98 pills.   You say, “Okay, I’ll pay for the last two pills myself.” </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">But the pharmacist tells you,  “I can’t let you do that.  I can only give you the number of pills your insurance will pay for.” </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This is what the “debate” about Social Security amounts to:   You are going to need Social Security when you get old.  The cost is going to go up by then about two percent.   Washington has decided they can’t let you pay the extra cost. The only solution they are willing to consider is cutting the amount you will get… to less than it will take to keep you alive.</blockquote>The <a href="http://angrybearblog.com/2013/11/how-to-sound-insane-by-talking-like-a-bi-partisan-expert-on-social-security.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Hzoh+%28angrybearblog.com%29" rel="nofollow">whole thing</a> is worth reading.

social security The lies pundits tell about cutting Social Security

If you pay close enough attention to moderate pundits in Washington, you will quickly realize they make no sense whatsoever. Especially when it comes to Social Security.Charles Pierce, author of Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Lan…

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Today's Teamster News 11.02.13

<a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/george-miranda-named-board-global-gateway-alliance" rel="nofollow">George Miranda Named to Board of the Global Gateway Alliance </a> teamster.org   ...George Miranda, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 210, is joining the Board of Directors of the Global Gateway Alliance, an industry coalition dedicated to improving airports in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area...<br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/mcdonalds-scam-america" rel="nofollow">McDonald's Scam on America</a>  Alternet   ...We're subsidizing the wages and benefits of employees of highly profitable fast food chains. It costs the American taxpayer nearly $7 billion per year...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/us/as-cuts-to-food-stamps-take-effect-more-trims-to-benefits-are-expected.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" rel="nofollow">As Cuts to Food Stamps Take Effect, More Trims to Benefits Are Expected</a>  New York Times   ...millions of Americans receiving food stamps will be required to get by with less government assistance every month, a move that not only will cost them money they use to feed their families but is expected to slightly dampen economic growth as well...<br /><a href="http://www.epi.org/blog/transatlantic-free-trade-agreement-job-claims/" rel="nofollow">Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement: Job Claims Are Pure Baloney</a>  Economic Policy Institute   ...U.S. trade with Mexico after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has cost the United States nearly 700,000 jobs through 2010. U.S. trade with China has certainly failed to deliver on the promised benefits of growing exports. Since that country entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the U.S. has lost 2.7 million jobs through 2011 due to growing trade deficits with China. And the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) has also resulted in growing trade deficits with that country and the loss of more than 40,000 U.S. jobs...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/01/how_the_1_percent_always_wins_liberal_washing_is_the_rights_new_favorite_tactic/" rel="nofollow">How the 1 percent always wins: Liberal washing is the right’s new favorite tactic</a>  Salon   ...The famous examples of liberal washing come from the White House. A few decades ago, Democratic President Bill Clinton liberal-washed corporatist schemes like NAFTA and financial deregulation. Today, it is Democratic President Barack Obama liberal-washing the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/31/single_payer_health_care_vs_obamacare/singleton/">insurance industry’s healthcare initiatives</a> and now <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-07-06/business/35267423_1_debt-talks-obama-plans-congressional-leaders">joining</a> with a handful of <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/26/sell_out_alert_9_democrats_already_caving_to_gop_on_social_security_cuts_partner/singleton/">Democratic legislators</a> to liberalwash – and legitimize – the right-wing crusade to slash Social Security benefits...<br /><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10946" rel="nofollow">House Passes Deregulation Bill Written by Citigroup </a> The Real News   ...the one that was driven by Citibank that would allow a wide range of financial derivatives to be done directly by the bank, which is to say, the insured entity, which is to say, the government would be on the hook if there were losses. And Dodd-Frank was designed to prevent or at least dramatically minimize that. So this is a truly awful bill...<br /><a href="http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/UK-Energy-Firms-Guilty-of-Market-Manipulation-to-Face-Criminal-Charges.html" rel="nofollow">UK Energy Firms Guilty of Market Manipulation to Face Criminal Charges </a> Oil Price   ...Ed Davey, the Energy Minister, has now stated that the government may charge energy firms that are found guilty of manipulating the markets, with criminal sanctions...<br /><a href="http://fannie%20mae%20sues%20banks%20for%20%24800%20million%20over%20libor%20rigging/" rel="nofollow">Fannie Mae Sues Banks for $800 Million Over Libor Rigging</a>  Bloomberg   ...<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/FNMA:US">Fannie Mae (FNMA)</a> sued nine banks, alleging that their manipulation of the benchmark London interbank offered rate, which four of them have admitted, cost the mortgage-financing company about $800 million...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/23/wall_streets_favorite_democrat_wants_your_pension/" rel="nofollow">Wall Street’s favorite Democrat wants your pension</a>  Salon   ...The financial services industry hopes to gain even more control over workers' retirement savings...<br /><a href="http://portside.org/2013-11-01/north-carolina-come-and-rise" rel="nofollow">North Carolina, Come On and Rise Up</a>  Portside   ...This past summer, "Moral Mondays" in North Carolina emerged as the locus of one of the country's most insistent state-level movements against extremist efforts to slash the social safety net and roll back civil rights...<br /><a href="http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/oct/24/union-lawyer-says-top-court-ruling-uphol/" rel="nofollow">Top court ruling upholds free speech, union lawyer says </a> Youngstown Vindicator   ...The Ohio Supreme Court delivered a major victory for labor unions when it ruled in a Mahoning County case. The court ruled that a state law requiring a union to give a public employer and the State Employment Relations Board 10 days’ advance notice of strike picketing does not apply to informational picketing...<br /><br /><br />

financial deregulation hunger job-killing trade dals LIBOR scandal mcdonald's corporate criminality Moral Monday Nafta social security TAFTA Today's Teamster News 11.02.13

George Miranda Named to Board of the Global Gateway Alliance  teamster.org   ...George Miranda, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 210, is joining the Board of Directors of the Global Gateway Alliance, an industry…

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Kochs are at it again, attacking your Social Security

<div style="background-color: white;">Sen. Bernie Sanders is raising the alarm about greedy billionaires like the  <strike style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/10/bombshell-kochs-sold-oil-equipment-to.html" style="color: #336699;">Benedict Arnold</a></strike> Koch brothers trying to cut our Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Because their greed knows no limit, they want more for themselves.<br /><br />We received an email from Bernie that we thought we'd share with you:<br /><blockquote>They're at it again. </blockquote><blockquote>Billionaires like the Koch Brothers, Pete Peterson, Stanley Druckenmiller and others are leading the charge to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. </blockquote><blockquote>If they succeed, millions of senior citizens, working families, disabled veterans and children will suffer. We must not allow that to happen. </blockquote><blockquote>Today, the middle class is disappearing, real unemployment is extremely high, poverty is increasing and working families throughout the country are struggling to keep their heads above water economically. Meanwhile, the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider and the wealthiest people and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well. </blockquote><blockquote>We must not balance the budget on the backs of working families, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. </blockquote><blockquote>As Vermont's senator, I have the honor of serving on the Budget Conference Committee which will be negotiating a new federal budget over the next few months -- and where I am fearful that a deal could be struck to slash Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. </blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://teamster.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://caf.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2%26c=aQsw3tIOFnxpop08Xau3ZjVH3RGaJD3v" target="_blank">As the founder of the Defending Social Security Caucus, please stand with me, our friends at Social Security Works and our coalition partners in demanding; "No grand bargain in exchange for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits."</a> </blockquote><blockquote>Let's be clear. Despite right-wing rhetoric:<ul style="background-color: white;"><li>Social Security is not going broke. According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security has a surplus today of $2.8 trillion and can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible person for the next 20 years.</li></ul><ul style="background-color: white;"><li>Social Security has not contributed to the deficit. Social Security is funded independently by FICA taxes which are paid by workers and their employers.</li></ul><a class="buttonthing" href="https://teamster.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://caf.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2%26c=26YuB4UzYGhHBKb3QANTLklE39OdngJ8" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Sign this petition.</a> </blockquote><blockquote>The so-called chained-CPI, which recalculates how COLA's are formulated, is not a "modest tweak." If the chained CPI went into effect today, a senior aged 65 would receive $658 a year less in Social Security benefits when he/she is 75, and $1,100 a year less at age 85. Further, the average disabled veteran would lose tens of thousands of dollars in benefits over his/her lifetime. </blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://teamster.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://caf.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2%26c=P5gEI205klVWPxZZYFMWIElE39OdngJ8" target="_blank">Please stand with me today and demand that Congress and the President oppose any grand bargain which cuts Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.</a> </blockquote><blockquote><br />When one out of four U.S. corporations pay nothing in federal income taxes; when Bush's tax breaks for the rich remain in place for many wealthy Americans; when the U.S. spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defense, there are much fairer and economically sound ways to address the budget than cutting programs desperately needed by the most vulnerable people in our country. </blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://teamster.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://caf.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2%26c=4Etw6IQzVgW8pu8KEYXPlUlE39OdngJ8" target="_blank">Please stand with me and Campaign for America's Future in protecting the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.</a> </blockquote><blockquote>Let's go forward together. Thanks for your continued support. </blockquote><blockquote>Sincerely,<br /><img alt="Bernie Sanders" src="https://teamster.org/exchweb/img/clear1x1.gif" /><br />U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders</blockquote></div><span style="background-color: white;"></span>

austerity Koch brothers social security Kochs are at it again, attacking your Social Security

Sen. Bernie Sanders is raising the alarm about greedy billionaires like the  Benedict Arnold Koch brothers trying to cut our Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Because their greed knows no limit, they want more for themselves.We received an emai…

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Today's Teamster News 10.27.13

<a href="http://peoplesworld.org/teamsters-score-big-organizing-gains-go-kosher-too/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters score big organizing gains, go “kosher” too! </a> People's World   ... while the biggest win was in Santa Monica, Calif., the most unusual saw the union "go kosher" - winning an election and a first contract for 15 kosher dining hall workers at the University of Pennsylvania...<br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/nine-democratic-senators-side-gop-entitlement-cuts" rel="nofollow">Sell-Out Alert: 9 Democrats Already Caving to GOP On Social Security Cuts </a> Alternet   ...There are at least nine in the Senate. California’s <a href="http://ourfuture.org/20130326/senate-kicks-the-chained-cpi-to-the-curb-but-leaves-the-back-door-open">Dianne Feinstein</a>, Montana’s <a href="http://ourfuture.org/20130326/senate-kicks-the-chained-cpi-to-the-curb-but-leaves-the-back-door-open">Max Baucus</a>, West Virginia’s <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/disrupt#53275328">Joe Manchin</a>, Delaware’s <a href="http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/serious-attempt-at-deficit-reduction-requires-closer-look-at-advice-in-bowles-simpson-report">Chris Coons</a> and <a href="http://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=39f20a2e-d3b9-49b1-82a0-e9c67f00ba4f">Tom Carper</a>, and Colorado’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/10/09/the-gang-of-six-nay-eight-is-back-will-it-matter/">Michael Bennett</a> have all said they support cuts to entitlements in letters to constituents, proposed bills or statements...<br /><a href="http://medicalobserverph.com/putting-profits-first-no-way-health-groups/" rel="nofollow">Putting Profits First? No Way – Health Groups</a>  Medical Observer   ...militant health groups belonging to Health Alliance for Democracy and the People’s Health Movement-Philippines picketed the office of the World Health Organization to express their strong opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement...<br /><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1336647/jiangxi-businessman-pays-model-mo-lulu-100000-yuan-breastfeed-him" rel="nofollow">Jiangxi businessman pays model Mo Lulu 100,000 yuan to breastfeed him</a>  South China Morning Post   ... at a private dinner after the automobile show, Mo breastfed a man who paid her 100,000 yuan. According to the report, the businessman called Mo “mom” every time he took a sip. Other people at the dinner took photos and uploaded them online...<br /><a href="http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/labor/news/2013/09/20/74751/middle-classes-are-stronger-in-states-with-greater-union-membership/" rel="nofollow">Middle Classes Are Stronger in States with Greater Union Membership</a>  Center for American Progress Action Fund   ... four of the top five union states—Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, and Rhode Island—had middle classes of above-average strength...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/26/marty-sullivan-figured-out-how-the-worlds-biggest-companies-avoided-billions-in-taxes-heres-how-he-wants-to-stop-them/" rel="nofollow">Marty Sullivan figured out how the world’s biggest companies avoided billions in taxes. Here’s how he wants to stop them.</a>  Washington Post   ...it was Sullivan who in 2010 pieced together from public filings that Apple had understated its reported profits to hide the fact that it was paying a tax rate of less than 2 percent on its overseas profits, shining the spotlight on Apple’s tax avoidance schemes...<br /><a href="http://www.mybudget360.com/means-tested-benefits-government-benefits-more-than-fulltime-workers-census-data/" rel="nofollow">Means-Tested recovery: Over 108,000,000 Americans received means-tested benefits in latest report from Census Bureau, more than are currently employed full-time. </a> My Budget 360   ...the stock market is rallying higher and higher thanks to financial maneuvering but the actual American worker is taking it on the chin.  This is obviously unsustainable...<br /><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/libertarians-and-progressives-team-up-against-nsa-surveillan" rel="nofollow">Libertarians And Progressives Team Up Against NSA Surveillance</a>  Buzzfeed Politics   ...Organized by the coalition Stop Watching Us, which includes dozens of groups ranging from Internet freedom advocates to Tea Party organizations, the rally attracted hundreds of people to the Capitol Reflecting Pool to protest the electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency revealed by Edward Snowden this year...<br /><a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/10/24/First-responders-pension-fund.html" rel="nofollow">Police, fire pension fund still falls short, report says </a> Columbus Dispatch   ...Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, the Napoleon Republican who leads the Ohio Retirement Study Council…threatened to dismantle the Police & Fire Fund as a separate board because of what he perceives as members’ continued intransigence. “Some of these members are union thugs who know about power and aren’t afraid to use power or abuse power if they need that to win...”<br /><a href="http://www.plunderbund.com/2013/10/26/tea-party-activists-gather-signatures-for-so-called-right-to-work-amendment/" rel="nofollow">Tea Party activists gather signatures for so-called right to work amendment</a>  Plunderbund   ...At this rate, Ohioans could vote to make Hillary Clinton the next president of the United States before we ever get a chance to vote on another anti-union measure in Ohio.  Unless, of course, they pick up a lot of funding and start collecting signatures at a faster pace...<br /><a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/mailbag/letter-asbestos-bill-will-complicate-veterans-claims/article_c7f20289-bc20-5923-bc09-411005281a94.html" rel="nofollow">LETTER: Asbestos Bill Will Complicate Veterans' Claims</a>  Wisconsin State Journal   ...veterans make up only 8 percent of the population, but 30 percent of all mesothelioma-related deaths. Senate Bill 13 would add additional hurdles for victims seeking claims against asbestos companies and would delay or deny justice for asbestos victims...<br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/bizarre&id=9300706" rel="nofollow">Georgia man runs into burning home to save beer</a>  KTRK   ..."I went back into the house like a dummy." That's what one man in Georgia said after he risked his life to save beer from his fridge while his house was on fire...

corporate tax avoidance organizing pensions plutocracy right to work for less social security spying TPP Today's Teamster News 10.27.13

Teamsters score big organizing gains, go “kosher” too!  People's World   ... while the biggest win was in Santa Monica, Calif., the most unusual saw the union "go kosher" - winning an election and a first contract for 15 kosher dining hall workers at…

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Unions speak the truth on Social Security

<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="380" id="cnbcplayer" width="400"> <param name="type" value="application/x-shockwave-flash"/> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/> <param name="quality" value="best"/> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"/> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"/> <param name="salign" value="lt"/> <param name="flashVars" value="startTime=000"/> <param name="flashVars" value="endTime=000"/> <param name="movie" value="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000209229/code/cnbcplayershare" /> <embed name="cnbcplayer" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" height="380" width="400" quality="best" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" salign="lt" src="http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000209229/code/cnbcplayershare" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /></object><br /><br />Social Security, the program that provides over half  of American seniors a majority of their income, is more important than ever. Across America, <a href="http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/basicfact.htm" rel="nofollow">nearly 58 billion workers and their families</a> rely on Social Security every month to pay the bills.<br /><br />But once again, the<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/fix-debt-is-full-of-crap.html"> greedy billionaires behind Fix the Debt</a> are trying to cut Social Security benefits so they don't have to pay their fair share of taxes. They don't care that Social Security keeps millions out of poverty. They don't care that it's essential to sustaining what's left of the middle class.<br /><br />The greedy billionaires are now trying to persuade Congress to cut Social Security (and probably Medicare) when they meet in three months to discuss budget cuts. They're trying to disguise it by calling it "chained CPI," which is nothing but jargon for "cuts."<br /><br />Unions are out front warning Americans of the looming threat -- just like the last time the billionaires tried to push the cuts through Congress. Teamster General President Jim Hoffa <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-strongly-oppose-cuts-social-security">staunchly opposes the cuts, which hurt the oldest and poorest retirees the most:</a><br /><div style="margin-left: 30px;"><br />Social Security does not contribute to the budget deficit and should remain off the table in these year-end budget negotiations.  Americans work all their lives to earn the Social Security benefits they were promised. It would be a terrible mistake to go back on that promise.</div><br />Even though <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/10/19/5-incredible-social-security-facts-that-young-adul/" rel="nofollow">less than three-quarters of the fund </a>comes from payroll deductions, Fix the Debt minions have been spreading misinformation, saying that Social Security will cause the US to go bankrupt.  When an anchor from CNBC claimed that the US may well go bankrupt from Social Security, Damon Silver, the AFL-CIO's policy director, <a href="http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/ZING!-Talking-Truth-to-CNBC-on-Social-Security-Lies" rel="nofollow">set the record straight</a>:<br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 30px;">That’s frankly not true. That is a lie put forward by billionaires who don’t want to pay higher taxes....The people who believe what you said are people not counting on those programs and who are worried their very large incomes will be taxed.</div><br /><div style="margin-left: 30px;">Chained CPI is like the vampire of American politics. It keeps being shot through the heart and it keeps reviving. The reason it keeps coming back is because it has billionaires behind it. </div><br />Our nation needs to keep the decades-old promise to workers.  There is no such thing as an acceptable cut -- especially when the country has more than enough resources to fund the program that keeps millions of seniors out of poverty.<br /><br />

chained CPI middle class retirement SENIORS social security Unions speak the truth on Social Security

Social Security, the program that provides over half  of American seniors a majority of their income, is more important than ever. Across America, nearly 58 billion workers and their families rely on Social Security every month to pay the…

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Beware of cuts to Social Security, Medicare

<div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5dYLMj9ijPs" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />Another attack on working- and middle-class Americans is coming, it's coming soon and it's coming from Congress. <br /><br />More talks will take place 12 weeks from now, and they'll likely end in an agreement to cut Social Security, the most effective program ever to keep seniors out of poverty. The cuts will be swaddled in jargon -- "chained CPI" -- but don't be fooled. It's a cut. <br /><br />And they'll likely cut Medicare, too, the most popular and cost-effective health insurance program in the country.<br /><br />As Richard Eskow put it in a recent <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/entitlement-cuts_b_4133753.html" rel="nofollow">Huffington Post</a>: <blockquote/>In twelve weeks or so our new system of government-by-crisis will resume its regularly scheduled programming: more threats, more confrontations, and even more extreme rhetoric. </blockquote>There are only a few ways this could play out, and most of them involve cuts to Medicare and Social Security. The ones which don't probably involve either A) catastrophic gridlock or B) a mobilized citizenry.</blockquote>The reason you should be concerned is that Democrats as well as Republicans are starting to talk like the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/fix-debt-is-full-of-crap.html" rel="nofollow">Fix the Debt loonies</a>, greedy billionaires willing to destroy the middle class in order to get more tax cuts for themselves. Democrats who've indicated support for cuts to  include President Obama, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.<br /><br />Our allies at<a href="http://www.strengthensocialsecurity.org/action" rel="nofollow"> Social Security Works</a> have a petition (the video above is theirs too) you should sign if you don't want Congress to cut Social Security and Medicare. Click <a href="http://www.strengthensocialsecurity.org/action" rel="nofollow">here</a> to sign it.<br /><br /><br />

fix the debt Medicare social security Beware of cuts to Social Security, Medicare

Another attack on working- and middle-class Americans is coming, it's coming soon and it's coming from Congress. More talks will take place 12 weeks from now, and they'll likely end in an agreement to cut Social Security, the most effective program e…

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Hammered: The con artists attacking your Social Security and Medicare

The greedy con artists trying to lower your <a href="http://www.strengthensocialsecurity.org/" rel="nofollow">Social Security</a> and Medicare so they can lower their own taxes are having a rough time of it lately. People are catching on to their grift.<br /><br />For example, the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/fix-debt-is-full-of-crap.html" rel="nofollow">Fix the Debt</a> swindlers tried to hold a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> live chat yesterday. Fix the Debt is the billionaire-funded group that likes to lecture the rest of us on how to make do with less. While they, you know, make do with more.<br /><br />The Fix the Debt Twitter live chat didn't go so well, according to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fix-the-debt-trolled-on-twitter-2013-10" rel="nofollow">Business Insider</a>. "'Fix the Debt' just felt Twitter's sweet, trollish wrath," reported BI's Steven Perlberg. Here are some choice tweets:<br /><b><br /></b>David Dayen:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>@ddayen</b> Do you believe increased tax receipts from faster economic growth would reduce the deficit? Or do you not have a calculator? #fixthedebtqa</blockquote>Kyle McGuiness<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>@Emcee_Gee</b> Which is preferable: Arduous entitlement reform, or just beating up grandparents and stealing their SS checks every month? #fixthedebtqa</blockquote>Brett Banditelli<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>@banditelli </b>Will you be willing to cut Ed Rendell's consulting benefits as much as #ChainedCPI cuts seniors benefits? #fixthedebtqa cc: @fixthedebt</blockquote>Sam Seder<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>@SamSeder</b> Favorite Cat Food for a quick nosh? #fixthedebtqa</blockquote>Then the conversation turned to the utter failure of the twitter chat:<br /><br />Kurt Lynch<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>@KurtLynch12</b> Is your PR guy regretting the making of this hashtag yet? #fixthedebtqa</blockquote>If that was bad, the <a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/10/who-should-young-people-throw-under-the-bus-granny-or-billionaire-hedgie-stan-druckenmiller.html" rel="nofollow">naked capitalism</a> blog did a priceless takedown of another hustler who wants to throw granny under the bus: billionaire hedge fund manager Stan Druckenmiller.<br /><br />Druckenmiller, the naked capitalist explains, is a financial speculator who bears a lot of the guilt for the 2008 collapse that is making life so miserable for young people these days (i.e., disastrously high unemployment). Now he's fomenting generational warfare with much the same message the Fix the Debt hustlers are promoting: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">He’s going to college campuses and telling students that things suck (which they know full well) and they need to go after Boomers who are gonna get too much in entitlements if things don’t change.... </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">...Druckemniller has not only been one of two or three biggest Republican donors for the better part of two decades, he’s been firmly aligned with the aggressive “shrink government/cut taxes” effort, back to being a strong ally of Newt Gingrich. For Druckemmiller to point at Boomers and act as if he’s part of the solution, as opposed to one of the long-standing proponents of tax cuts, which among other things were one of the big causes in the rise in government debt levels under George Bush, is remarkably disingenuous.</blockquote>And she concludes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...he was a major sponsor of the very policies that have helped impoverish American youth. Perhaps Druckenmiller is making such an aggressive and public disinformation tour because he knows that if young people were to turn on the old, he’d be one of the most deserving targets for their vengeance. </blockquote>If only they'd just crawl back to their mansions...

fix the debt social security Hammered: The con artists attacking your Social Security and Medicare

The greedy con artists trying to lower your Social Security and Medicare so they can lower their own taxes are having a rough time of it lately. People are catching on to their grift.For example, the Fix the Debt swindlers tried to hold a Twitter liv…

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Today's Teamster News 10.15.13

<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/11/2773151/osha-shutdown/" rel="nofollow">Workplaces Go Without Safety Inspections During The Shutdown</a>  ThinkProgress   ...When the government shut down on October 1, 90 percent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) inspectors were furloughed...<br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeremy-warner/10378666/The-sun-is-setting-on-dollar-supremacy-and-with-it-American-power.html" rel="nofollow">The sun is setting on dollar supremacy, and with it, American power</a>  The Telegraph   ...A serious alternative to the dollar is still a long way off, but the latest shenanigans on Capitol Hill have given the search for them renewed momentum...<br /><a href="http://www.courierpostonline.com/viewart/20131013/NEWS02/310130056/Normalcy-eludes-many-year-after-Sandy-hit-NJ" rel="nofollow">Normalcy eludes many a year after Sandy hit NJ </a> Courier-Post   ...full recovery from Superstorm Sandy is still elusive nearly a year after the storm pummeled the state Oct. 29...<br /><a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/10/wsj-more-homes-for-sales-fewer-sales.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CalculatedRisk+%28Calculated+Risk%29" rel="nofollow">WSJ: More Homes for Sales, Fewer Sales, Slowing Price Increases in Certain Areas</a>  Calculated Risk   ...The sharp home-price rally in some of the hardest-hit housing markets is likely to fade in the coming months amid a pullback in investor purchases and steady increases in the number of homes listed for sale...<br /><a href="http://wallstreetonparade.com/2013/10/banks-are-still-failing-at-ten-times-the-pre-2008-crash-rate/" rel="nofollow">Banks Are Still Failing At Ten Times the Pre-2008 Crash Rate </a> Wall Street on Parade   ...Before Wall Street took a bazooka loaded with credit default swaps and toxic mortgage securitizations and fired it directly at the heart of the U.S. economy, we had a very stable banking system...<br /><a href="http://www.enetenglish.gr/?i=news.en.home&id=1536" rel="nofollow">100,000 applications for 10,000 temporary jobs paying €427-490 a month</a>  ENet   ...At last count, in July, there were 1,374,054 people recorded as unemployed in Greece by the Hellenic Statistics Authority (Elstat). But of the 1,004,000 unemployed on OAED's books, only 145,865 – about 10% – were entitled to unemployment benefit...<br /><a href="http://portside.org/2013-10-13/are-our-parents-stealing-our-kids-no-theyre-not" rel="nofollow">Are Our Parents Stealing from Our Kids? No, They're Not </a> Portside   ...the data suggest that more spending on seniors is associated with more spending on kids...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/14/garment_workers_held_boss_captive_until_he_paid_promised_bonus/" rel="nofollow">Garment workers held boss captive until he paid promised bonus</a>  Salon   ...Bangladeshi workers on minimum wage held factory boss for over 18 hours after months of tense labor disputes...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/14/hospital_giant_fails_in_bid_to_swipe_nurses_sick_days/" rel="nofollow">Hospital giant fails in bid to swipe nurses’ sick days</a>  Salon   ...After nine strikes, nurses won the right to keep taking paid sick days rather than spreading disease to patients...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11018894" rel="nofollow">Report: NSA collecting millions of contact lists</a>  The Guardian   ... the spy agency intercepts hundreds of thousands of email address books every day from private accounts on Yahoo, Gmail, Facebook and Hotmail. The NSA also collects about a half-million buddy lists daily from chat services and email accounts...<br /><br /><br /><br />

Bangladesh government shutdown Greece home prices paid sick days Sandy social security spying Wall Street Today's Teamster News 10.15.13

Workplaces Go Without Safety Inspections During The Shutdown  ThinkProgress   ...When the government shut down on October 1, 90 percent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) inspectors were furloughed...The sun is setting on d…

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Today's Teamster News 10.14.13

<a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1241573/negotiations-between-teamsters-and-cn-derail" rel="nofollow">Negotiations between Teamsters and CN derail</a>  Teamsters Canada   ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents some 3,300 conductors, trainmen, yardmen and traffic coordinators at Canadian National (CN), are gearing up for a fight with the railway company...<br /><a href="http://dobetternissan.org/2013/10/compa-report" rel="nofollow">Report outlines how Nissan in Canton, Miss., is violating international human rights standards of workers who want to organize and bargain collectively</a>  Do Better Nissan   ...in the Canton plant, according to the report, Nissan has launched a campaign of fear and intimidation to nullify these rights...<br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-11/federal-workers-stretch-last-paycheck-until-shutdown-ends.html" rel="nofollow">Federal Workers Stretch Last Paycheck Until Shutdown Ends</a>  Bloomberg   ...The average federal employee earned an annual salary of $76,353 in 2012, and the lost income is exerting a drag on the economy as well as forcing employees who live paycheck-to-paycheck to figure out how to cover their bills until the shutdown ends...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/oct/09/worlds-wealthy-where-russia-rich-list?CMP=twt_gu" rel="nofollow">The world's wealthy: where on earth are the richest 1%?</a>  The Guardian   ...Amid a record high for average global wealth its figures reveal striking inequalities – such as 35% of Russia's riches in the hands of 110 people...<br /><a href="http://www.economicpopulist.org/" rel="nofollow">Don't Count on a 1.5% Social Security Increase, the Figures Have not Been Released Yet</a>  Economic Populist   ...The problem with this headline announcement by the press is the social security cost of living increase has not been announced yet and is highly dependent on government inflation statistics for September...<br /><a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/19334-the-tragedy-of-greece-as-a-case-study-of-neo-imperial-pillage-and-the-demise-of-social-europe" rel="nofollow">The Tragedy of Greece as a Case Study of Neo-Imperial Pillage and the Demise of Social Europe</a>  Truthout   ...A public debt crisis has been used as an opportunity to dismantle a rudimentary social state, to sell off profitable public enterprises and state assets at bargain prices, to deprive labor of even its most basic rights after decades of hard-fought struggles against capital, and to substantially reduce wages, salaries and pensions, creating a de facto banana republic...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-the-nation-state.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0" rel="nofollow">The End of the Nation-State?</a> (opinion)  New York Times   ... though most of us might not realize it, “nonstate world” describes much of how global society already operates. This isn’t to say that states have disappeared, or will. But they are becoming just one form of governance among many...<br /><a href="http://electionlawblog.org/?p=55927&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electionlawblog%2FuqCP+%28Election+Law%29" rel="nofollow">Breaking: Judge Posner Admits He Was Wrong in Crawford Voter ID Case</a>  Election Law Blog   ..."we…. weren’t really given strong indications that requiring additional voter identification would actually disfranchise people entitled to vote..."<br /><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/10/why-ceo-pay-will-keep-rising-to-even-more-insanely-unjustified-levels-while-ordinary-workers-fare-worse.html" rel="nofollow">Why CEO Pay Will Keep Rising to Even More Insanely Unjustified Levels While Ordinary Workers Get Squeezed</a>  naked capitalism   ...Even casual scrutiny will tell you that the current ridiculous levels of CEO pay bear no relationship to anything other than their highly developed rent extraction skills...<br /><br /><br />

CEO Pay European debt crisis government shutdown Greece negotiations rail social security trade union busting voter suppression Today's Teamster News 10.14.13

Negotiations between Teamsters and CN derail  Teamsters Canada   ...The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents some 3,300 conductors, trainmen, yardmen and traffic coordinators at Canadian National (CN), are gearing up for a fight …

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The truth behind the "Grand Bargain" hoax

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Rui5m_DRdvg" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />The so-called <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-veghte/grand-bargain_b_4060292.html" rel="nofollow">Grand Bargain</a> that we should all be afraid of may be looming as a solution to the government shutdown. The Grand Bargain is more of a<a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10822&updaterx=2013-10-07+14%3A55%3A58" rel="nofollow"> grand betrayal</a>, really, and would involve Democrats agreeing to cut Social Security and Medicare. Not something we care for.<br /><br />Here's an excellent video that exposes the truth behind the Grand Bargain, aka the drive to shrink the U.S. government and destroy the middle class. It's masterminded by greedy old billionaires like <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/03/memo-to-billionaires-dont-lecture-us-on.html" rel="nofollow">Pete Peterson</a> and the<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"> </span><strike style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/10/bombshell-kochs-sold-oil-equipment-to.html" style="color: #336699;">Benedict Arnold</a></strike> Koch brothers. They get their kicks lecture the rest of us on living beyond our means. <br /><br />These people are even worse than the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron" rel="nofollow">robber baron</a>s of the Gilded Age. At least their 19th-century forefathers didn't shut down the government.

government shutdown grand bargain social security The truth behind the "Grand Bargain" hoax

The so-called Grand Bargain that we should all be afraid of may be looming as a solution to the government shutdown. The Grand Bargain is more of a grand betrayal, really, and would involve Democrats agreeing to cut Social Security and Medicare. Not …

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