Trump Just Admitted on Live Television He Will 'Terminate' Social Security and Medicare If Reelected

Full title:
Trump Just Admitted on Live Television He Will 'Terminate' Social Security and Medicare If Reelected in November
“President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon openly vowed to permanently "terminate" the funding mechanism for both Social Security and Medicare if reelected in November—an admission that was seized upon by defenders of the popular safety net programs who have been warning for months that the administration's threat to suspend the payroll tax in the name of economic relief during the Covid-19 pandemic was really a backdoor sabotage effort.

The Trump campaign was apparently so satisfied with the public acknowledgement of the president's promise to make the payroll tax permanent—a move that would inherently bankrupt the Social Security system—that it clipped the portion of the press conference and shared on social media immediately after it concluded. The president's critics did as well, though they carried a different message...” [source]

Biased source but accurate representation of what a permanent tax cut would cause, a complete collapse of several liked programs and two that people depend on for basic survival.

The Census Bureau has found that around 12% of Americans aged 65+ received 90% or more of their income from Social Security while other studies have put this figure as high as 40%. The same studies have found that 42% - 79% of Americans aged 65+ received 50%+ of their income from Social Security. (age weighted vs person weighted percentages) [source]

Does trump realize what he is proposing or is this just the latest attempt to kill off two of the most popular federal programs that exist?

 

Social security has an insolvency problem on the horizon that has nothing to do with trump. If you are under 55, don’t even plan on collecting.

 

Payroll taxes are not THE funding system of SS. It is ONE of the funding systems of SS. About 2/3rds of SS is funded through trust funds.

https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/how-is-social-security-funded/

 

If Trump does ANYTHING to hurt the Social Security or Medicare programs, he may as well start packing his stuff in anticipation of his move in January. Senior citizens are not going to accept any negative changes to these programs and they will vote him out real fast.
Don't mess with the old folks!

 

Yeah but they won’t NEED a payroll tax if all the non rich over 65s who cannot afford to escape the pandemic are dead

 

“In 2019, those taxes — called FICA for people with wage-earning jobs and SECA for the self-employed — brought in nearly $945 billion, accounting for 89 percent of Social Security's revenue, according to the 2020 annual report from Social Security's board of trustees.”

Even if your figures were correct, do you believe retirees can live on 2/3’s of their current benefit? And what of Medicare?

 

Many will not realize until the damage is done unfortunately

 

Trust funds that are holder of US treasuries. If he plans to kill it, he first actually has to cut the budget so we have excess revenue to reduce the debt.

 

So trump dissolving the funding method has nothing to do with how quickly the insolvency occurs? Interesting

I guess he is trying to move it to “if you are under 85 don't plan on collecting”?

 

The President only recommends a budget. The House is who actually makes the budget and they are under no obligation to follow the President's recommendations. Though I do agree that if they do not follow the President's recommendation, they run the risk of him vetoing it.

 

I stand corrected....and with my own source even.

 

I didn’t know about the trust investments funding so we both learned something. Which is why I love PF when actual ideas are exchanged.

 

Yep, reminds me of Perot trying to tell working people and the middle free trade , offshoring would be a rush to the bottom for their wages.

People who vote for Trump are cutting their own throats and can't see it if he is being serious.

Time to start hanging the GOP. This little move voiced by trump would destroy the GOP. Not enough stupid people to save it.

 

He did not say he was suspending Social Security and Medicare deduction, he said he was suspending the FEDERAL TAX deduction. State Taxes and S.S. and Medicare should still be deducted.

 

Really? So we can find money to fund every entitlement and pet project of every congressman but we can't find the money to fund social security. Have you thought this through?

 

Where did I say “we can find money to fund every entitlement and pet project of every congressman”?

You should save your insults when all you have to add to the discussion is strawman arguments.

 

No senior citizen in their right mind would even consider voting for Dirty Donald if he threatens S.S. and Medicare!!! I paid into S.S. for over 50 years and have paid into Medicare continuously since it began in the 1960's, and still pay every month out of my S.S. payment.

 

Source?
The White House specifically said in the federal register “payroll taxes”
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presiden...-obligations-light-ongoing-covid-19-disaster/

There are four basic types of payroll taxes: federal income, Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment

 

Everything spent on the COVID-1984 Pandemic so far has hurt this country badly in its future. But there's no other way forward than stay alive now and pay for the medicine later.

 

I never said YOU said that. Congress always finds the money. Democrats believe they can find tens of trillions to fund the green new deal and Medicare for all but not social security? <Edit> By the way as far as strawmen are concerned look at the title of your thread.

 

They hold worthless securities that are simply an IOU for money stolen.

The Treasury Department, specifically the Bureau of Public has issued the Social Security Trust Fund "Special Securities" for the money looted from the Social Security Trust Fund. These special securities are simply IOUs. They cannot be sold on the open market and have no value. They can only be sold to the Government which has no money set aside to buy them. Social Security is a ponzi scheme and now it sounds like Trump plans to pull the plug on the current funding accelerating the collapse of Social Security. I cannot grasp how any conservative could believe that Trump's proposed action is Constitutional.

 

Many Nursing homes that house senior citizens have S.S. signed over to them as their payment if there is no S.S. there will be few if any nursing homes. More Dirty Donald lost jobs.

 

SS is not going to end in just a couple of years, even if the payroll taxes are waived for an even longer period to time. There will be no changes with those Nursing Home resident that have signed over their SS. By law, the resident is allowed a minimum of $52 a month for incidentals and the rest can be signed over to the Nursing Homes. However, there is never a minimum amount that the Nursing Home requires from the resident. If SS payments decrease, the Nursing Home is the one that loses....not the resident. They also can not evict a resident should SS payments be decreased.

 

Before you post stuff like this you should understand how Social Security is funded. Over 2.6 Trillion has been diverted over the years from the Social Security Trust Fund into the Federal General Fund. Now somehow you think this money could start flowing the other direction?

 

Yes, I know.

No, I think the government should be fiscally responsible and pay it's bills like the rest of us do.