Social Security

Remember former state representative Cynthia Davis? Slightly nutty and seriously dim denizen of the lands on the far right shores of dominionist Christian extremism? Now that she no longer has no longer legislative outlet, she shares her very special political views by means of an internet talk show.

Rep. Rick Nolan explains that social security and medicare are not "entitlements", but something you've paid for. He says his Republican opponent Stewart Mills will consider cutting social security, an option Nolan says is "off the table" for him.

Medicare and Social Security are in even better fiscal shape than we previously realized. Let's take a look at this Conservative kyrptonite: the massive success of Social Security and Medicare. (Added bonus: Affordable Care Act seems to be helping stabilize both!)

For months there have been rumors that the Social Security Administration has a “secret plan” to close all of its field offices. Is it true? A little-known report commissioned by the SSA the request of Congress seems to hold the answer.

Making Social Security solvent in the long run isn't that hard. But who should bear the cost?

The word 'entitlement' is ambiguous. For working people it means "earned benefits." For the rich, the concept of entitlement is compatible with the Merriam-Webster definition: "The feeling or belief that you deserve to be given something (such as special privileges)."

President Obama's tenure has been marked by a dramatic decrease in the deficit. Some of the causes have been positive – increased taxes on the rich, an economy slowly but surely coming out of a dire recession – but one cause is by and large negative: the sequester. That policy blunder has cost the nation hundred of thousands of jobs, just when we need it most.

The fear of running out of money in retirement is America's greatest financial concern. It's a fear greater than death. But the American workers who have paid all their lives for retirement security are being cheated by wealthy individuals and corporations who refuse to meet their tax obligations, and who have found other ways to keep expanding their wealth at the expense of the middle class.

Struggling families all across America now have less food on their tables. Budget cuts that kicked into effect November 1 have lowered the nation’s average federal food stamp benefit to less than $1.40 per person per meal.

Discussions of Social Security and Medicare tend to focus on the “cost” of the programs without considering the bigger picture: the many ways these programs help people and boost the larger economy. What would happen if we were to expand these valuable programs instead of cutting them?