Why do dems like the status quo with social security even though it will bankrupt us?

[Western European Mutt - WEM]

Bush tried to allow people to invest a small portion of their social security in low risk bonds/stocks and the dems went nuts. Boehner wants to raise the age for social security to 70 because people are living longer and there isnt' enough money. Why then do dems want to do NOTHING about social security and just let it take us to the bottom? Why are dems the party of NO and the status quo?

[G]

a lot of Republicans don't want to touch that either...

it's an interesting question... but after the stock market fall in 2008... a lot of peope don't like Bush's ideas either...

raising the age has also been mentioned by steny Hoyer... so it's not all democrats who are blocking the ideas...

[whiteflame55]

Alright, so what you're saying is that we should have went with Bush's plan, and put a generous sum of the social security money into stocks and bonds? Well, we'd be far more bankrupt than we are now when it comes to social security. Sorry to break it to you, but we're in a recession.

And no, Democrats don't want to continue with the current system for social security. Many are pushing for changes to it, such as removing the cap on payments into it. As of now, if you make over $100,000 a year, you pay in as much as you would if you made $100,000 a year. As a result, the money going in for most people isn't proportional to their actual earnings. Believe me, if that cap were removed, the social security problem would become a thing of the past.

[nathan f]

Boehner can say things like that because he's running unopposed.
I would love for Marco Rubio to make a statement supporting an increase to 70 for SSI benefits in his run for the Senate in Florida.

[Sidney]

Many people lost their life savings when the stock market melted down due to greed and deregulation. Bushes are a rich oil men and don't have to worry. Boehner must have spent a little too much time in a tanning booth and cooked his brains. I think we should stop paying his salary and refuse to pay for his retirement, in fact he doesn't belong in Congress at all. By the way he owns stock in BP. We pay him $193,400 for trying to make life more difficult for us, and guess what his retirement age is.

"Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to receive a pension.

The amount of a congress person's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary."

Republicans are also trying to permanently lower the amount that doctors are paid to treat patients on Medicare and have succeeded, hopefully temporarily. Since doctors already get paid less for treating Medicare patients and now it has been cut even more, more of them will drop elderly patients. Doctors are paid even less to treat people on Medicaid, such as Parkinson's patients, like the man we saw on video who was being jeered at by tea partiers, so even more doctors already refuse to treat them. Talk about death panels.

People pay into Social Security and pay taxes all their working lives. Much less is taken out for Social Security than for taxes to pay Boehner and Bush. Easy solution, take a few more dollars out for Social Security and a few less for politicians. Social Security isn't going bamkrupt, wars and Bush's tax breaks to the wealthy are bankrupting us. Why should all that taxpayer money go to make Boehner and his ilk comfortable, while none of it is used for the taxpayers. People like Boehner fool them into thinking they are begging for a handout if they ever expect to see any benefits from the taxes they pay, and then laugh all the way to the bank.

By the way if you are indeed a western European why wouldn't you want Americans to have the same benefits you do, or why are you interested at all?