MADISON, Wis. — Today, The Cap Times slammed Ron Johnson for wanting to open the door to cut Social Security and Medicare, putting millions of Wisconsinites livelihood at risk.
The Cap Times: Opinion | Of all Johnson’s stupidities, his position on Medicare and Social security is the worst
Key Points:
- Barely a week goes by when the Oshkosh Republican millionaire doesn’t make some mind-boggling pronouncement that makes you stop and wonder, ‘What’s with this guy?’
- In defending his [Ron Johnson] role in passing the Donald Trump-engineered tax bill, which helped millionaires and big corporations enjoy even more tax breaks, he has claimed the top 1% are paying their fair share of taxes.
- He pronounced during a talk radio interview that he’d like to see Social Security and Medicare moved from their mandatory spending status to discretionary, meaning that each year Congress would have to renew the funds that go to the programs’ recipients, just as it does with the Defense budget and other departmental funds.
- Maybe because he’s a millionaire — thanks to marrying into a wealthy family of plastics’ manufacturers — he is unaware that Social Security and Medicare payments are funded by the very people who are the programs’ recipients.
- As my old fellow newspaperman Bill Wineke wrote on Channel 3000 when he heard of Johnson’s latest outrage:
- “Even today, when I look at the plummeting value of my retirement account, I know that Social Security will be there to enable me to pay my mortgage and buy food.
- “And Medicare? Not only is Medicare the backbone of every older person but Medicare is the backbone of every private health insurance option for retired people.
- There are those, Johnson included, who typically view Social Security as an “entitlement.” It is not.
- Former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace pointed out that there’s a “fundamental misunderstanding” that the programs are “free money.” It isn’t free at all because working people pay into Social Security and Medicare with every paycheck. Wallace compared it to an insurance policy, in which people pay premiums for coverage.
- “No one would say you’re not entitled to the benefit for life insurance when the person who has the policy dies,” Wallace said.
- Others have commented that Johnson’s musing about the two popular programs for elderly Americans will probably cost him votes during the November election.
