My theory: People assume Obama is willing to cut social security due to speculative reporting.

[Godhumor]

If he doesn't cut social security, it won't be because he never intended to; it will be because "the public" wouldn't allow it.

Essentially, regardless of what he does, the meme across both the political spectrum and news outlets will be that he wished he could.

Hopefully, I am wrong, but the type of commentary happening now on the issue does not give me a lot of confidence.

[still_one]

1. The reason people assume he is willing to cut is because of the commission he appointed to study the

matter

[Godhumor]

2. Right, speculative. He appointed a commission to look at cutting costs ergo

He agrees with whatever it offers as recommendations.

[still_one]

17. I agree with your assessment, unfortunately /nt

[rfranklin]

3. That and the fact that they will not come out and support SS without cuts...

There is no freakin' reason to cut SS. It has never contributed to the deficit. I would like to hear Obama make that statement repeatedly until it sinks into the consciousness of the electorate.

[HeroTwins]

4. They just needed a new reason to bash him since he got DADT repealed.

Since there wasn't any good existing accusations to make, they just latched onto Social Security.

and you will know them by their cries of "Cat Food!!!!"

[w4rma]

11. Then Obama had better quit trying to be on all sides of this issue and make a statement.

The fact that he hasn't is his own problem. He could do it anytime he wants, instead he's out promoting Walmart, today.

[Sheepshank]

5. Assumptions made on hearsay.

It's as good as it needs to get for nay sayers.

[NorthCarolina]

6. Yeah, assumptions like his appointments to the Deficit Commission right? nt

[Sheepshank]

8. exactly those types of assumptions n/t

[vssmith]

15. Like the assumptions by the NRA that he would take guns away

[craigmatic]

7. If he's smert he'll let the repubs bring it up and complain/veto it.

[TheWraith]

9. I wouldn't even call that shit "reporting," it's rumormongering at it's finest.

Random angry left-wing bloggers "reporting" things as facts when it's just shit they imagined. Kind of like Fox News on steroids.

[JVS]

10. He brought it on himself with his deficit commission and talk of entitlements.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

12. riiiight

Everybody deserves factless speculation and accusations based on nothing *snorts*

this is both to you and to others who read this post(aka, not you specifically)

I've seen a number of threads recently that says the democrats are losing voters because Obama is clearly willing to cut SS

would it be Obama's fault if average Joe American are turned away from voting when he hasn't said a word about cutting SS?
Or could it be that the pundits and a minority on the left who seem to eagerly spread the 'news' far and wide about how Obama supposedly are going to cut SS are to blame for depressing the voters?

[JVS]

13. Nothing? He's the one who let Alan Simpson run his fucking mouth off without shutting him up.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Those who brought it upon, are those looking for anything they can to hold on to,

to continue hating on Obama. Using the word entitlement doesn't not mean anything except to those who have nothing else to hang on to.

Obama has spoken of raising the cap on SS, but somehow, those words aren't repeated over and over again...or morphed, etc....because they don't support the meme that the haters want us to believe; the worse in Pres. Obama and his intentions.


“The best way forward is to first look to adjust the cap on the payroll tax. ... Ninety-seven percent of Americans will see absolutely no change in their taxes under my proposal. ... What it does allow us to do is extend the life of Social Security without cutting benefits or raising the retirement age.”
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkDAdVJpF1U&feature=player_embedded


“Second, I do not want to cut benefits or raise the retirement age. I believe there are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve placing these added burdens on our seniors. One possible option, for example, is to raise the cap on the amount of income subject to the Social Security tax. If we kept the payroll tax rate exactly the same but applied it to all earnings and not just the first $97,500, we could virtually eliminate the entire Social Security shortfall.”
Article: http://www.barackobama.com/2007/09/21/fixedincome_seniors_can_expect.php


"....Warren Buffett, who makes more than $100,000 a year, the vast bulk of his income, he doesn’t pay Social Security taxes on it. That could be modified or changed in a way that would help extend the solvency of Social Security.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DhBi2i3UZc


Other statements on uncapping the payroll tax
September 22, 2007 — “If we kept the payroll tax rate exactly the same but applied it to all earnings and not just the first $97,000,” Obama wrote this week in an Iowa newspaper, “we could eliminate the entire Social Security shortfall.”

September 6, 2007 — “I think that lifting the cap is probably going to be the best option. Now we’ve got to have a process back in 1983. We need another one. And I think I’ve said before everything should be on the table. My personal view is that lifting the cap is much preferable to the other options that are available. But what’s critical is to recognize that there is a potential problem: young people who don’t think Social Security is going to be there for them. We should be willing to do anything that will strengthen the system, to make sure that that we are being true to those who are already retired, as well as young people in the future.”

April 27, 2008 — “In terms of raising the cap on the payroll tax, right now everybody who’s making $102,000 or less pays 100% of payroll tax on 100% of their income. There are about 3% to 4% of Americans who are above $102,000 in income every year. So if you want to talk about who’s middle class, me giving cuts to folks making $60,000 or $70,000, and potentially asking more from friends of mine like Warren Buffett. That’s a debate I’m happy to have with John McCain, because it’s the people making $75,000, $50,000, $60,000 who are hurting.”- Fox News Interview 2007

April 16, 2008 — “What I have proposed is that we raise the cap on the payroll tax, because right now millionaires and billionaires don’t have to pay beyond $97,000 a year. Now most firefighters & teachers, they’re not making over $100,000 a year. In fact, only 6% of the population does. And I’ve also said that I’d be willing to look at exempting people who are making slightly above that.”
Q: But that’s a tax on people under $250,000.
“That’s why I would look at potentially exempting those who are in between. This is an option that I would strongly consider, because the alternatives, like raising the retirement age, or cutting benefits, or raising the payroll tax on everybody, including people making less than $97,000 a year--those are not good policy options”- Philadelphia Primary Debate

--------------------------------------

Obama will keep his promise not to cut Social Security Benefits. There is nothing he has said or done that is tangible to doubt this. He understands well that this is part of the Democratic platform, and the daily rumormongering and conjectures by those who have already proven their hate and contempt for this President are unacceptable.

Informed and documented discussion is fine.

Constructive Activist Actions supporting Social Security are excellent.

However, assumptions based on nothing more than the use of one word or the make up of 2 members of a multiple member Commission looking at everything fiscal is not.

[ClassWarrior]

18. Your denial that Obama can do anything wrong is obvious, when you characterize the Prez's critics...

...as "hating on Obama."

NGU.

[FrenchieCat]

19. Your encouragement of rumors doesn't bode well for you either.

Whatever Obama has done wrong, stating that he is willing to cut SS benefits ain't one of them.

That's a fact.

[ClassWarrior]

20. Please point where anyone said he "stated" anything of the sort. Again, your apparent need to...

...distort others' positions, proves just how much in denial you are.

NGU.

[FrenchieCat]

23. I'm not in denial that folks are saying that he is going to cut SS benefits.....

As it has been all over DU and elsewhere as well....
not because of anything other than folks looking
for the worse in all that this admin does.
Perhaps you are projecting, in terms of who is denying what.

[ClassWarrior]

26. Okay, point to where anyone said he is going to cut SS benefits.

Not if he does, or he may. Is.

NGU.

[Telly Savalas]

22. Obama is going to declare war on Iran any day.

Moreover, the folks here who defend Obama shouldn't blame me for making an unsubstantiated and wildly speculative statement about his agenda. It's Obama's fault that I'm making shit up.

[JVS]

24. Sorry. In order for that comparison to be valid we'd need some kind of special...

Iran War Investigative Committee to be frequently spouting off about how we're about to fucking bring it on their asses.

[ClassWarrior]

16. Assigning RW whackadoodle Alan Simpleton to head his Catfood Commission didn't help, either.

NGU.

[elleng]

21. 'Commentary' never does give me confidence!

[ZombieHorde]

25. The 'President Obama is determined to cut SS' fantasy is really interesting to me.

I think we humans create a lot of fantasies, script roles, and then place actual people within those rolls. I see hints of this often in my personal life, and I even catch myself doing it, but this SS cut fantasy is really easy to see. We're watching people create their own realities.