What does Social Security have to do with the national debt or the annual budget? Just ask Bernie Sanders; nothing at all, he’ll confirm.
But what can anyone do to protect it and other benefits from budget cuts? That’s a question the senator from Vermont hopes to answer directly, and with your input, at an upcoming teleconference.
A conference call with Sen. Sanders is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST on Monday, Jan. 27.? Participants are asked to register online from the ?Friends of Bernie Sanders? website, and registrants will receive a phone call when the conference begins that evening.
Cuts to Medicaid, a means testing for Medicare, and even changes to Social Security calculations that didn’t consider what seniors purchase most were frequently proposed in 2013.
Sanders turned to the public with a petition drive that he says helped silence the proposals. ?As noted on the conference registration site:
In November, a coalition of grass-roots organizations came together and presented Congress with a petition signed by more than 700,000 Americans, which said ?No grand bargain in exchange for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.?
And, while the budget agreement that was reached was far weaker than we would have liked, it did not include cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Those victories are just a first step, though, and the public needs to rise again to protect basic rights.
Join U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and our coalition partners to discuss where we go from here and how we work together to demand that Congress creates national priorities that protect the interests of the middle class, and not just millionaires and billionaires.
In 2014 we are not just playing defense! We are not just working to protect Social Security, but expand Social Security and other programs that a disappearing middle class desperately needs.
Alluding to corrective goals in an October op-ed, Sanders wrote:
Instead of talking about cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we must end the absurdity of corporations not paying a nickel in federal income taxes.
CREDO, a progressive mobile network operator that actively contributes to social causes, is a host of the upcoming conference call.
Edited/Published by: SB
