NewsTrust - Social Security - Most Recent Stories

The PolitiFact guide to Medicare attack lines

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan, Louis Jacobson - May. 06 (Fact Check) - Barack Obama has slashed Medicare by $500 billion. Mitt Romney and House Republicans want to end Medicare. And a new board is going to ration care so Washington can waste more money. Believe any of that? You shouldn’t. But it’s what the political ads likely will be saying between now and Election Day in November. We have some advice for voters sorting out the claims: Believe nothing you hear in a 30-second TV ad. Here are a few facts about Medicare: • It’s the government-run health insurance for Americans over age 65. • It’s a Canada-style, single-payer system. Liberals love that; conservatives don’t. • It has approximately 50 million people on its rolls. • That 50 million will grow to 80 million as baby boomers retire. Paying for that will be a challenge. Those realities about Medicare have sparked a full-fledged political brawl for 2012.

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Poor economy worsens Social Security's finances

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By Stephen Ohlemacher, Ricardo Alonso Zaldivar - Apr. 24 (Opinion) - High energy prices and an economy that has been slow to rebound are worsening Social Security's finances, shortening the life of the trust funds that support program by three years, the government said Monday.

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Ryan Budget Plan Would Cut Income Taxes for Millionaires by at Least $187,000 Annually and Facilitate Corporate Tax Avoidance

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

ctj.org - Mar. 22 (News Analysis) - House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has introduced a budget plan that, if implemented, would reduce revenues so significantly that they would be inadequate to pay for the federal spending under the Reagan administration, let alone the spending required in the years ahead. The Ryan budget would provide income tax cuts for millionaires averaging at least $187,000 in 2014. The plan would also reduce corporate income taxes and would increase the (already considerable) incentives for corporations to shift profits and jobs overseas.

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AARP Plans Secret ‘Salon’ With Social Security Opponents

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim - Mar. 17 (News Report) - An AARP invitation to a secret "Relaxed and Robust Evening of 'Salon Style' Conversation" to be held at a Capitol Hill home on March 27, obtained by The Huffington Post, indicates that the organization is still very much interested in a "grand-bargain" style deal that puts Social Security and Medicare cuts on the table.

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GOP War on Voting Targets Swing States

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Rolling Stone - By Ari Berman, Rolling Stone - Mar. 10 (Opinion) - 'Since the 2010 election, Republicans have waged an unprecedented war on voting, with the unspoken but unmistakable goal of preventing millions of mostly Democratic voters, including students, minorities, immigrants, ex-convicts and the elderly, from casting ballots in 2012.' Ari Berman, Rolling Stone

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American Airlines' attempt to ditch pension riles feds, labor unions

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Steven Mufson - Feb. 11 (News Report) - Now in bankruptcy proceedings, the airline wants to terminate its four pension plans for 130,000 workers and retirees and ask the government's Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. to bail out its unfunded pension obligations to the tune of $9 billion.

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Where Americans Most Depend on Benefits

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - Feb. 11 (Special Report) - The share of Americans’ income that comes from government benefit programs, like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, more than doubled over the last four decades, rising from 8 percent in 1969 to 18 percent in 2009.

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'Hose Streets? Our Streets!' Belgian Firefighters Turn Their Ire (and Hoses) on Austerity

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Common Dreams - Feb. 10 (News Report) - In a great reversal from most recent street protests, Belgian firefighters today, who were out in force to voice their opposition to government proposed cuts to their retirement plans, turned their firehoses on the prime minister's office. Belgian police get wet as they guard the entrance to the cabinet office from protesting firefighters. (Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features) read ...

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Panel Fails to Reach Deal on Plan for Deficit Reduction

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Jennifer Steinhauer, Robert Pear, Helene Cooper - Nov. 22 (News Report) - After one last bout of fitful but futile talks, Congressional negotiators conceded the obvious: that the joint Congressional committee charged with drafting a deficit reduction package would miss its deadline this week. But they did not quite give up the ghost of a chance that a solution might be found later.

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Failure Is Good

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Nov. 18 (Opinion) - In Democrat-world, up is up and down is down. Raising taxes increases revenue, and cutting spending while the economy is still depressed reduces employment. But in Republican-world, down is up. The way to increase revenue is to cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and slashing government spending is a job-creation strategy.

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H-1B Workers’ Use of Social Security Numbers

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

SSA - Oct. 18 (Special Report) - Based on the results of our review, we estimate about 7,131 (18 percent) of the 38,546 H-1B workers to whom the Social Security Administration (SSA) assigned an SSN in 2007 may have used their SSNs for purposes other than to work for their approved employer. This estimate includes about 4,433 (11 percent) H-1B workers who had posted wages during our audit period from an employer other than their DHS-approved employer. This estimate also includes about 2,698 (7 percent) H-1B workers who had no posted wages from 2007 through 2009.

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Taxation in the United States

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wikipedia - Sep. 30 (Special Report) - The United States is a federal republic with autonomous state and local governments. Taxes are imposed in the United States at each of these levels. These include taxes on income, property, sales, imports, payroll, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. Taxes are imposed on net income of individuals and corporations by the federal, most state, and some local governments. Residents are taxed on worldwide income and allowed a credit for foreign taxes. Income subject to tax is determined under tax rules, not accounting principles, and includes almost all income from whatever source. Most business expenses reduce taxable income, though limits apply to a few expenses. Individuals are permitted to reduce taxable income by personal allowances and certain nonbusiness expenses, including home mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and medical and certain other expenses incurred above certain percentages of income. State rules for determining taxable income often differ from federal rules. Federal tax rates vary from 15% to 35% of taxable income. State and local tax rates vary by jurisdiction, and many are graduated. State taxes are generally treated as a deductible expense for federal tax computation. Certain alternative taxes may apply. Payroll taxes are imposed by the federal and all state governments. These include Social Security and Medicare taxes imposed on both employers and employees, at a combined rate of 15.3% (13.3% for 2011). Social Security tax applies only to the first $106,800 of wages in 2009 through 2011. Employers also must withhold income taxes on wages. An unemployment tax and certain other levies apply.

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Super Committee Holding Super Secret Meetings

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Sep. 28 (News Report) - Throughout the day on Tuesday, a smattering of political reporters leaned up against walls in the basement of the Capitol Visitors Center. Inside room HVC200, the 12-member supercommittee, tasked with reshaping the nation's tax code, social safety net and approach to war, was meeting in secret. "I don’t want to discuss what we discussed," Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) told the gathered reporters, as recorded by Politico. “I think you all know the rules,” Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told the group, according to Roll Call. “If you want to talk to somebody, talk to our two co-chairmen."

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Pennies from heaven

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Harper's - By Chris Lehmann - Sep. 15 (News Analysis) - How Mormon economics shape the G.O.P (subscription required)

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Fact-check: CNN/Tea Party Debate

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Eugene Kiely, Robert Farley, Lori Robertson, Brooks Jackson, D'Angelo Gore - Sep. 14 (Fact Check) - The GOP presidential candidates debated for the second time in six days -- tossing out a variety of false and misleading claims on everything from Social Security to vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases. ...

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Fact-checking the CNN/Tea Party Express GOP debate

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Bill Adair - Sep. 13 (Fact Check) - The CNN-Tea Party Express debate in Tampa on Monday night was dominated by talk about Social Security and the need for government to balance its budget. Mitt Romney led the attacks on the Republican frontrunner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, by saying that Perry didn't support the retirement program. "In writing his book, Gov. Perry pointed out that … by any measure Social Security has been a failure," Romney said. We checked Perry's book and found Romney was right. We rated the claim True.

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Fact Check: Social Security, Health Care and More

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Michael Cooper, KITTY BENNETT, TRIP GABRIEL, NICHOLAS CONFESSORE, RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr., JOHN M. BRODER, RYAN MURPHY - Sep. 13 (Fact Check) - As Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was assailed by some rivals for the Republican presidential nomination at Monday night's debate for his misleading claims on Social Security, he also seemed to be debating himself at times.

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GOP debate fact check: A look at the record

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Associated Press - Sep. 13 (Fact Check) - Rick Perry 1.0 thought Social Security was a "disease" inflicted on the population by the federal government. Rick Perry 2.0 thinks Social Security deserves being saved "for generations to come." That metamorphosis by the Republican presidential hopeful over recent months contributed to some factual stretches Monday night in a GOP debate, both by the Texas governor and his opponents for the nomination. A look at some of the claims in the Tea Party Express debate and how they compare with the facts.

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Shouldn't All Stories be 'Fact-Check' Stories?

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Columbia Journalism Review - By Greg Marx - Sep. 09 (Opinion) - On the subject of fact-checking the presidential debates, it’s worth noting that while the proliferation of “fact-check” stories over the last few years is probably a step in the right direction, it does come with a risk—that by assigning “fact-checking” responsibility to a particular story or blog, we send a message that the vast majority of political news...

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The Payroll Tax Holiday: Talk about a Ponzi Scheme!

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - By Wendy Mink - Sep. 09 (News Analysis) - Is President Obama trying to kill Social Security without explicitly saying so? He put Social Security "on the table" for consideration by his Deficit Commission -- even though Social Security has not contributed to creating or sustaining the deficit/debt in the first place. He kept Social Security on the table when he made a deal to delegate deficit reduction authority over entitlements to an undemocratic Super Committee. Now, in a speech reportedly about jobs, he proposed to extend and increase the ill-considered FICA tax cut he embraced last December -- a tax read more

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FactChecking the Reagan Debate

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Robert Farley, Brooks Jackson, Lori Robertson, D'Angelo Gore, Eugene Kiely - Sep. 08 (Fact Check) - The GOP candidates took some liberties when discussing jobs, Social Security, immigration, health care and other issues during the presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library: Perry exaggerated when he called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" that won't be there for "kids that are 25 or 30 years old today." Social Security's finances — while troubled — are an open book, not an investment scam, and the program could still support 74 percent of promised benefits in 2085.

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Rick Perry Stands By Contentious Remarks

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Aug. 28 (News Report) - During a stop in Iowa on Saturday Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry stood by his criticism of Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme." He said the entitlement program amounts to a "monstrous lie" for young Americans, the Houston Chronicle reports.

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Mitt Romney Heckled, Presidential Candidate Says Corporations 'Are People, My Friend' (VIDEO)

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Sam Stein, Elyse Siegel - Aug. 11 (News Report) - Speaking to an occasionally rowdy crowd two days before the Ames Straw poll, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made what seems likely to become a much-discussed flub, declaring to a group of Iowans that "corporations are people."

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Why Obama won’t face a primary challenge

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Harold Meyerson - Aug. 04 (Opinion) - President Obama is faring poorly these days, but he can console himself with the fact that he’ll probably be spared the fate of previous presidents who fell on hard times: a primary challenge. Those groups within the Democratic Party that might otherwise be shopping around for a more forthrightly progressive alternative are deterred by two factors: the likelihood that any challenge will end up helping a radicalized Republican Party and the fact that Obama is black.

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How the GOP lost on the debt deal

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Daniel Markovits - Aug. 03 (Opinion) - The deal reached by Congress eliminates the leverage that would have been created by another imminent default until after the next election, where it will be exercised by new and possibly differently constituted players.

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