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Debt Commission Chairs On Social Security Changes: 'Everything Is On The Table' (VIDEO)
Debt commission chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson
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The co-chairs of President Obama's deficit-reduction commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, told PBS Newshour last night that reform of Social Security and Medicare is on the table.
The president "insisted everything be on the table," said Bowles, a former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, when asked if the commission would consider "modifying" entitlement programs or raising taxes.
Simpson, who as a senator called for the partial privatization of Social Security, was more frank.
"You have two choices with Social Security. You either raise the payroll tax, or decrease the benefits -- or start 'affluence testing,'" he said. "The rest of it is B.S. And if the people are really ingesting B.S. all day long, their grandchildren will be picking grit with the chickens."
And later:
"This country is gonna go to the bow-wows unless we deal with entitlements, Social Security and Medicare," Simpson said.
"I'll have the same problem with [criticism from] the left when we start talking about entitlements," Bowles chipped in. "But we have to tell the truth."
"And we're going to," Simpson added.
Watch:
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kindness
February 19, 2010 12:24 PM
The Military too?
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Cool Blue Reason
February 19, 2010 12:39 PM in reply to kindness
I'm sure it would be outside the scope of any commission along these lines. But I think a great recommendation would be to simply re-define the term "discretionary" in the budgeting process to include military spending, and to bar the CBO, GAO, WH Budget Office, etc. from using measures like "discretionary, non-military spending."
A good portion of the battle is just getting people to think about the issue in the same terms.
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madmatt
February 19, 2010 12:32 PM
so simpson is suggesting defaulting on the US BONDS placed in the "lockbox"...I am sure the Chinese will be happy to hear that they have been investing in worthless paper. FU simpson, you would rather have everybody scratching like chickens, don't pretend to care about "the grandchildren"
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Cool Blue Reason
February 19, 2010 12:52 PM in reply to madmatt
Defaulting on U.S. bonds / actual sovereign debt obligations is the one thing that actually *is* "off the table" -- whether it is explicitly acknowledged or not. Nobody is talking about that -- certainly not Simpson. The whole point of the commission is to make sure not only 1) that a default never happens, but also 2) that the debt markets do not come to think there is even a realistic possibility, which would drive up rates and wreck the economy worse than we've ever seen.
If you're talking about potential benefit cuts, it is just that -- a cut to program benefits paid out. The U.S. bonds in the "lockbox" are not individually marked, "for dollars # 30,000 through 40,000 of Agnes B. Smith's Social Security check, payable in 2019." There is never going to be a default in the sovereign debt, only a change in program terms to keep the system solvent.
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KarenJG
February 19, 2010 1:40 PM in reply to Cool Blue Reason
I think what MadMatt is talking about is that most of us "baby boomers" have been paying extra - almost double, in fact - into Social Security for 30 years, in a scheme that was billed as "pre-paying" some of baby-boomer's SS benefits. Because, asyouknowbob, SS is supposed to be a pay-as-you-go program. Dollars collected today are supposed to be paid out today. But we've been paying extra, supposedly stored in gov't bonds, because there won't be enough workers paying in to fund the baby-boomer's SS benefits.
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shooter242
February 19, 2010 12:37 PM
Oh, I have no doubt how this will end. Medicare taxes are levied on all income, and SS taxes will be too. At some point SS and Medicare will be means tested, the biggest contributors excluded, and all those taxes will become welfare.
Of course the only problem with that, is a larger and larger portion of America will be dependent, on a smaller and smaller group of taxpayers. Taxpayers that can move themselves and their money elsewhere.
You know, like they've done in California.
Keep up the good work.
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Riesz Fischer
February 19, 2010 12:59 PM in reply to shooter242
Sounds good to me. When are you gonna move?
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Cool Blue Reason
February 19, 2010 1:01 PM in reply to shooter242
Such an outcome will never happen. Even in the depths of the Depression, under the actual threat of socialist revolution (and pushing back against one of the most powerful and unrestrained presidents in our history), the ruling elites in this country could not accommodate anything other than a compromise roughly resembling our current system.
There will be nibbles at the edges, no doubt. But the whole hog -- FICA taxation of any (much less the entirety) of the plutocrats' wealth income, and means-testing of the benefits -- quite simply will never, ever happen. There is a much greater chance of Congress passing single payer healthcare tomorrow, with Joe Lieberman smiling on proudly.
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Economides
February 19, 2010 1:01 PM in reply to shooter242
Social Security is funded by payroll taxes, taxes on benefits, and interest on the trust Fund bonds which is ultimately paid for by general revenues (all other taxes). The vast majority is payroll taxes. If we eliminate the tax cap and raise the retirement age a little then the whole thing is paid for. No need for means testing.
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Silence
February 19, 2010 1:17 PM in reply to Economides
Eliminate the tax cap and more people lose their jobs. No jobs, no taxes. And, around we go. It's a very delicate balance.
The current old folks will be fine. A promise made is a promise kept. The rest of us will take a bullet for the sake of the kids.
It's time for the next 'greatest generation'.
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mans_best_friend
February 19, 2010 1:24 PM in reply to Silence
"The rest of us will take a bullet for the sake of the kids."
Go ahead. I'll be right behind you.
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Silence
February 19, 2010 1:45 PM in reply to mans_best_friend
You'll take the bullet whether you like it or not.
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Michael A
February 19, 2010 2:08 PM in reply to Silence
Huh? You guys with taxes are nuts and have no concept. Go live on a pacific island with no taxes and live it up. No taxes means no government. Good luck with that.
The tax cap only gives a windfall to people making over probably 100k now. How many people is that?
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VictorLH
February 19, 2010 2:19 PM in reply to Silence
Bullshit - all they need to do is raise the wage to 120K and Social Security is set for 100+ years.
Medicare is the problem. Unfortunately, the solution to that, converting it to a truly Universal Single payer system that everyone pays premiums to would never happen with the dolts in this country.
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The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
February 19, 2010 4:27 PM in reply to Silence
Right. That's why no one in this country had a job during the fifties and sixties when top marginal rates were at 90%.
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Michael A
February 19, 2010 1:08 PM in reply to shooter242
Kind of like how the big blue states are providing welfare to the poor red states today, right?
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Jim H
February 19, 2010 2:00 PM in reply to shooter242
you know, there's an easy fix for that: Close the wage gap between the super-wealthy and everyone else.
If the fewer and fewer people at the top don't want to provide welfare for the rest of us, they should just start paying their employees better wages.
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Walter Mitty
February 19, 2010 12:47 PM
The interviewer was struggling to keep a straight face with Simpson's one liners. Did he say "Rush-babe"?
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Silence
February 19, 2010 1:03 PM
Winter. The money tree has lost it's leaves.
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mike from Arlington
February 19, 2010 1:14 PM
It's a shame the President can't count on our Congress to do this rather than outside sources.
Our Congress is a failure.
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Walter Mitty
February 19, 2010 1:23 PM in reply to mike from Arlington
Because it's all about scoring political points and getting/staying elected. Nobody wants to make the tough decisions because they might be politically unpopular - and that's why the country is in the mess it is now.
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shanefish
February 19, 2010 1:26 PM
Some would consider me a total "leftie", but I would have to agree that, considering the state of our nation, EVERYTHING should be on the table. With every man, woman and child owing over $40,000 each (not including interest) we must act. I am all for changes to SSI and Medicare, as long as it is worked in a way that brings down costs and expands coverage. Our nation has slowly eroded to the point where third world countries have more freedom and better representation than we do! America, there is much work to be done and this petty back and forth is only playing into the (R)s and (D)s hands. They've effectively torn our nation in two, and for what? At least the Civil War was over a nobel cause! Senate: you are pathetic!
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shanefish
February 19, 2010 1:28 PM in reply to shanefish
By "owing" I mean that our national debt/population = $40,000 each.
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Dalena
February 19, 2010 1:45 PM
"The rest of it is B.S. And if the people are really ingesting B.S. all day long, their grandchildren will be picking grit with the chickens."
Comments like that show just how out-of-touch the chairman are. At least use modern cliches.
This link provides some insights onto the issue: http://bit.ly/a0JLXJ
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atlliberal
February 19, 2010 2:26 PM
As much as I disagree with his politics, I love listening to Simpson talk. "Picking grit with the chickens " Who else would say something like that?
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sconset
February 19, 2010 2:47 PM
I watched this interview last night and it was very informative and honest. Obama means business and this has to be done. Simpson and Bowles were unanimous in saying that everything is on the table and they mean it.
Regretably, it has come to this point, but this country cannot go on the way we have been since 2001.....our whole economy has been destroyed by the one party that STILL doesn't get it......tax reduction is NOT going to create a single job or pay down the deficit.
Remember these were the geniuses that got us into 2 wars, the medicare debicle that was unfunded (and passed in the middle of the night, along with a nice payhike for themselves), outsourced every agency in the government to their "friends", no bid contracts were handed out all around, passed unfunded mandates like NCLB, and then passed 2 tax bills that benefitted the top l percent in the country. What galls me, the party that screwed the pooch believes (along with the so-called liberal media) that they are going to be the party in charge after November.
I trust both Bowles and Simpson to do the correct and honest thing and I believe they will. If the american people have it explained to them how dire things are, they will support it all the way.
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sconset
February 19, 2010 3:00 PM
I am obviously referring to the republican party in my take on the interview last night with Judy Woodward.
Alan Simpson is a very, very funny man.....he is one of the few good republican's around.....these teabaggers would be running him out of the Senate if he had stayed....I used to loathe him but after watching him on Bill Maher several times he seems reasonable and has a sense of humor. Plus, he went after Viriginia Fox this past summer when the hate crimes bill passed and he sailed into her and her homophobia like you wouldn't believe. That kid who was killed, was it Matthew Shephard was one of his constituents and he worked hard to get a law in place like hate crimes but his fellow repuke senators wouldn't support it.
Bowles is a very serious and smart guy. Trust me this will work out but it is going to require guts on the part of our politician's.
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JadeZ
February 19, 2010 4:52 PM
but of course the real truth is its the war budget that is destroying this country.
SS pays fr itself and with simple fixes can do so forever.
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martis
February 19, 2010 5:19 PM
The military budget will be the death of the country. We pour money into the middle east furnace with ZERO RETURN (except blood). Oil ain't getting any cheaper and apparently we still need to be terrified of them terrists .. so I ask ... why are we spending more than like the top 10 other coutries combined on weapons?? Can this question ever pass the lips from one of our people in the liberal media? Instead we seem to be teeing up the two most successful (and popular) social programs in the country for cuts. WTF?
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Michael A
February 19, 2010 9:02 PM in reply to martis
Why you ask? The reason why is so that repukes get reelected. 10% or more probably alloted to military expenditures is funneled right back to repukes. It would be cheaper just to pay for the repukes campaigns directly and cut military expenditures.
Gotta love this chart. The US percent of GDP spent on the miliary is right between chad and libya. And the US GDP is huge compared to other countries. Most western countries spend between 1.5 and 2.5 percent of GDP. We spend 4.6. Twice as much or more. Outrageous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
And on top of it, our navy is larger the the top ten navies combined. The remaining 9 of the top ten are all allies by the way.
It's f'n nuts. But noone ever talks about it. Noone.
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suraj
June 20, 2010 5:44 AM
There are specialized financial consultants who will assess the types o loans that you have taken and how best you can repay them
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July 6, 2010 4:18 AM
I am obviously referring to the republican party in my take on the interview last night with Judy Woodward.
Alan Simpson is a very, very funny man.....he is one of the few good republican's around.....these teabaggers would be running him out of the Senate if he had stayed....I used to loathe him but after watching him on Bill Maher several times he seems reasonable and has a sense of humor. Plus, he went after Viriginia Fox this past summer when the hate crimes bill passed and he sailed into her and her homophobia like you wouldn't believe. That kid who was killed, was it Matthew Shephard was one of his constituents and he worked hard to get a law in place like hate crimes but his fellow repuke senators wouldn't support it.
================================================================
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July 6, 2010 4:20 AM
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August 14, 2010 3:31 PM
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