Medicare


Social Security is on the Ballot

Social Security works for all Americans. Social Security is essential to most people's present and future financial security. It is much more than retirement income for old folks. Social Security is very efficient with overhead costs which are way below those of private insurance companies. It is also very popular and the most successful public program in our history. So why are Republican politicians constantly trying to mess around with Social Security? Even more inexplicable, why do so many people, who benefit from Social Security, continue to vote for Republica...

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Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans


JUST MONEY ONE

We are once again watching the complete ignorance – and yes, it is ignorance – of our legislators arguing over the national “debt Ceiling.” Forgive the harsh words, but this misguided foolishness hurts people. It hurts the nation.  Every time we witness this self-destructive nonsense, one cannot help but wonder - - - Why don’t Americans ask some obvious questions? How can there even be a national debt? The Federal Government is the Constitutionally authorized creator and supplier of the nation’s money. Who are we borrowing our own money from, and why are we ...

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Corporate Crime

“The irony is that the nation I live in, once a beacon of democracy for my parents, is now dominated by corporations that value profit over people, safety and well-being,” Marta Tellado, CEO of Consumer Reports. Her parents fled Cuba in 1961. Crime was a major issue in the recent election. According to the Republicans “crime is  skyrocketing” and honest citizens are living in fear of widespread violent crime. “Criminals are “wreaking havoc on American cities” said Rep. Tom Tiffany despite his mostly rural northern Wisconsin congressional district having ...

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Hands Off Our Earned Benefits

  Social Security is an incredibly effective and popular program. It provides benefits to over 1.2 million Wisconsinites and keeps over 400,000 out of poverty. There is no reason Social Security should be a partisan issue. It benefits Republicans, Democrats, and independents. But Senator Ron Johnson wants to put these vital earned benefits at risk by turning Social Security and Medicare into “discretionary spending.” That would turn these programs from guaranteed earned benefits into ordinary government spending that Congress has to vote to fund every ...

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Retirement Issues and WI Candidates: U.S. Senate and WI Treasurer

For Immediate Release: June 13, 2022 POWRS Steering Committee, Philip Anderson, powerswi@gmail.com Retirement Issues and WI Candidates: U.S. Senate and WI Treasurer To better inform Wisconsin voters, Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement Security (POWRS) surveyed the U.S. Senate candidates on retirement, Social Security and Medicare issues. We sent the survey to all the declared Democratic candidates and to the Republican incumbent. We only received replies from four Democratic candidates: Mandela Barnes, Sarah Godlewski, Alex Lasry, and Tom Nelson. POWRS ...

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Comparing the U.S. Senate Candidates on Retirement Issues

Wisconsin – and the nation – is facing a retirement security crisis. Many people will have inadequate income for a secure retirement. Many will only have Social Security to live on. Many will not be able to “retire” at all. Over 400,000 seniors in Wisconsin will be living in poverty by 2030. As a result, Wisconsin will need to spend an additional $3.5 billion on public assistance programs. These problems are not self-correcting and won't be fixed by free market “solutions.” Government must act to address the retirement crisis. This includes consolidating and ...

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Sunsetting Social Security

The Republican Party is running on an agenda, proposed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Senator Rick Scott, which would sunset all federal legislation in five years. This means that the Republican Party is pushing an agenda that would sunset Medicare and Social Security. Shame on them! It is hard to believe Rick Scott comes from Florida where the largest population are seniors. I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a disaster this would be for American families.  Our very own Senator Ron Johnson has praised this agenda and said that it would be ...

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Wisconsin legislators fail to represent constituents yet again

There are three things that voters throughout Wisconsin, whether they live in a red district or a blue district, agree on: increasing the minimum wage, expanding access to Medicaid, and non-partisan redistricting.

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WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXVI: WHO IS BANKRUPTING AMERICA?

printing money
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said: “Because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke.” But the Medicare trustees themselves, along with a host of experts, say the Affordable Care Act’s changes to Medicare – including holding the line on spending and raising taxes [a surtax on high income earners] – actually puts Medicare in better shape than before the law was adopted. That’s a long way from making Medicare go broke. We rate Ryan’s statement Pants on Fire. - - Tom Kertscher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Pants on Fire” has become standard operating proced...

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