Elderly woman rips Jeb in townhall: "I paid into that for years - now you want to take it away?

[kpete]

“We’re not going to have adequate coverage for our children or our grandchildren without Medicare. I paid into that for years and years just like all these other seniors here and now you want to take it away?” said the woman, who did not identify herself and left before the town hall concluded.

“Why are you always attacking the seniors?”

“Well, I’m not,” Bush responded. “Here’s what I said: I said we’re going to have to reform our entitlement system. We have to.”

“It’s not an entitlement,” the woman shot back. “I earned that.”





http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/jeb-bush-defends-medicare-benefits-phase-out-comment-entitlement-120546.html

[Kingofalldems]

1. The Bush sons are snotty rich kids who despise working people.

[City Lights]

11. I couldn't agree more!

They are elitist snobs who act like they are self-made millionaires.

[ericson00]

36. at least W. could fool people,

Jeb looks more like his loser father everyday. I still think he doesn't really wanna be president; he just caved to the pressure, or he wouldn't be making these gaffes.

[merrily]

52. Could W really fool people, though?

I think he fooled the right about how religious he was. He did not come across with as much government money for religion as he led them to believe, but he did stand with them on abortion.

Otherwise, I don't know who he really fooled. For Republicans, he was the lesser of two evils. For Democrats, he was various things. I don't think even alll the people who made up his 30% approval rating in his final time in office were fooled. Some of them were just going to be damned if they told America they didn't like him.

[Baitball Blogger]

69. He had massive media support to bolster his credentials.

Which, as far as I could tell consisted of the fact that he was selected as the candidate you would most want to drink beers with and that he was smart enough to surround himself by a capable staff.

[merrily]

70. Yes, but did that fool many? Fooled no Democrats I know.

Many Republicans consider their candidates the lesser of two evils, much as we do.

[Baitball Blogger]

71. Not sure what more Gore could have done.

He campaigned to the very end, while Bush sat around the living room with his family members waiting for the call.

[merrily]

72. That is a different issue from whether Bush fooled anyone.

By some counts, Dimson stole two elections in terms of electoral votes. He won the popular vote against Kerry by a razor thin margin-and even that is contested.

Seriously, at any time, did you say to yourself, this Bush guy sounds sincere and good?

[Baitball Blogger]

74. Never. But, I do believe it took a concerted behind the scenes effort to

get him elected. It was never our choice.

[HughBeaumont]

101. +1000.

While I feel Nader didn't help things, his role in The Failure Fuhrer's ascendancy to ruination, I feel, is minimal at best.

Truth is, Bewsh the Stupid had so many plants in all kinds of places that, come hell or high water, he WAS getting that Presidency, whether we liked it or not and whether Nader played a role or not. His Besties at Faux News (and let's be frank, more than a few Gore-ribbing corporate channels) before, during and after the election were the fuse, the Florida Fixers Jeb and Kathy were the dynamite, Karl Rove and The Brooks Brothers Bastards were the distraction and the Filthy Five were the insurance.

Let's be frank about another thing: a massive dipshit fuckloser asshole like Joe Lieberturd should never . . . NEVER have been on a national stage as a Democratic candidate. NEVER. I think he played the strongest role in Gore's downfall, because he sealed the Repub-Lite deal (and fueled the "Both Parties are the Same" crew . . . really, how can one blame them???) when we needed a strong left-of-center ticket.

[staggerleem]

109. The ONLY people he fooled ...

... were the ones who WANTED to believe in him.

Do we have a name for those people? How about "fools"?

[merrily]

111. ......

Iraq

Feinstein supported the Iraq war resolution in the vote of October 11, 2002; she has claimed that she was misled by President Bush on the reasons for going to war. However, former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq Scott Ritter has stated that Feinstein in summer 2002 acknowledged to him that she knew the Bush administration had not provided any convincing intelligence to back up its claims about the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Dianne_Feinstein

Knowing the evidence to support the wars was not there, I wonder how Difi voted on the AUMF.

[MyOwnPeace]

134. Capable staff?

Who-the-f**k might THAT have been?

[Baitball Blogger]

136. They assured us they were capable.

That's the point. When the media is on board with a boneheaded idea, nobody is safe.

[RoccoR5955]

91. He did fool the people.

He had help from the right wing spin machine who said that we have to support him because he was a "war president."
Dubya and his Bush Crime Syndicate duped us into two wars that we had no business in, while he made kissie face to the prince of the country that DID attack us, and gave them aid, and assistance.

Since they have gotten away with so much since the 80s, they just try to get away with more and more and more. This crap has to stop.

[merrily]

97. Were you duped? Did you buy what he was saying?

[Moonwalk]

105. Yes/no he fooled people. I'd say many were fooled and others wanted exactly what he was...

...he was the sort of guy you could sit on the porch with and swig beers. The guy you could fish and hunt with. The good old boy who didn't make you look or feel stupid. A white man for white American who was all "rah-rah USA!"

Gore didn't come across that way. He was, if you like, too smart, too controlled, too willing to be everyone's president. Not a buddy. You can't look too smart when running for president (if you're a white male). Remember Carter a nuclear engineer? He didn't run as that. He ran as a peanut farmer.

So, on the one hand, Bush fooled people into thinking he was one-of-the-good-old-boys (rather than rich and entitled and spoiled); that was what his way of talking was all about; "I'm no scientist..." crap. Other people he didn't fool, but they were the sort who'd rather give the job to their best friend's son/someone who went to the same fraternity as them/who belongs to their club, etc., rather than someone who is really qualified. Why? Because that person, they think, will favor them back. They may be fooling themselves in this if they're not really one of his foxy cronies. If they are, however....

Then he will, as Bush did, open the hen house to them.

[LeftOfWest]

150. The lying murdering deserter w fooled NO ONE

which is why he had to be anointed by the right wing supreme court.

He loved slaughtering and humiliating brown and black humans, the most poor of course, for their natural resources his entire born to it taking using life. Born to it, exploiting it.

[daleanime]

37. Amen.....

[Chasstev365]

63. The Bushes Have Never Gotten It!

"I worked three jobs and I feel like a contribute." W: "Uniquely Americans; that fantastic!" THEY JUST DON'T GET IT! It reminds me of a Far Side Cartoon when they're leading Marie Antonette to her execution and she says, "Let them eat cake AND ICE CREAM, I said AND ICE CREAM."

[TexasTowelie]

2. Lift the income cap that is subject to contributions

and it will shore up the system. Is Jeb so stupid that he doesn't see the solution?*

*Rhetorical question since I already know the answer.

[arcane1]

15. Exactly! n/t

[Grey]

24. You are SO right....! nt

[Alkene]

50. +1

[Enthusiast]

60. Grover Norquist would not approve your solution.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

88. Is there a cap for Medicare deductions? nt

[TexasTowelie]

122. No.

All covered wages are taxed at 1.45% for Medicare. Meanwhile, the rate for wages under $118,500 is 6.2% for Social Security. Employers are required to pay an equal match.

There is also a Medicare surtax of 0.9% on wages in excess of $200,000 (single person), $250,000 (married, filling jointly) and $125,000 (married, filing separately).

Source: http://www.adp.com/tools-and-resources/adp-research-institute/insights/insight-item-detail.aspx?id=F5E4F8C7-0887-4C94-AFEB-21C7B25DD3BF

There is also a 3.8% Medicare surtax that is levied on investment income that was placed on the wealthy under the ACA. Here is an article that provides details: http://www.forbes.com/sites/lewissaret/2013/03/14/code-sec-1411-what-the-new-3-8-medicare-surtax-mean-for-you-and-your-investments/

[D Gary Grady]

153. Excellent and informative post

I would only add for completeness two things:

Medicare tax funds only part of Medicare Part A (hospitalization). Part B is funded (but only partly, I think) by premiums paid by the user.

Also, Social Security tax still *is* capped, and that cap should indeed be removed, and an additional tax applied to high levels of investment income (not currently subject to Social Security tax at all).

[paleotn]

137. Exactly

Even Reagan was that smart Jeb not so much.

[msongs]

3. bush wants privatized accounts so his corporate friends can steal all the $$ like 2008 nt

[world wide wally]

16. Bingo! ^

[JDPriestly]

42. Precisely!

[stillwaiting]

57. Give more money to Wall Street and less service/benefit to average people!

A Fascist's Dream Come True!!

[whatthehey]

67. wonder why nobody stole my retirement investments in 2008....

Still there now, better than in 2007. Nothing to write home about by any means, but unstolen and still growing.

Am I a 1%er? Not even close. Not even within an order of magnitude.

A bank insider? Not at all.

A Buffet-like investment genius? I wish, but no I still have to work to fund steady, routine investments.

A trust fund scion of the wealthy? My father never made more than $12 an hour all his working life, mostly in warehouse jobs. Mother far less.

So what's the secret? Simple common sense. Don't panic and sell when the market drops, unless it's literally that or starve. I would be couch surfing and carless and have sold all my possessions and eating at soup kitchens before I'd even think of touching retirement accounts. If you have any money at all, buy then.

There are no evil banksters out there raiding IRAs unless you let them, either by choosing high-load funds to let them nibble away or by panic selling which is essentially begging them to swallow you whole..

[haele]

107. You were fortunate with what happened to you during the 2008/2009 period then.

Here's the questions I ask everyone who talks about "the secret to my success"...
These have been modified to pertain to the 2008/2009 period:

When did you retire and do you have a pension or annuity (i.e., Were you already retired at the time)?

Did you have dependents that could not bring in extra wages that could allow you to put 10% - 25% of your household income into retirement, savings, or investments?

Did you have dependent costs during that time period? As in out-of-home-care, food, medical, costs pertaining to size of housing (i.e., 2 or 3-bedroom vice studio or single bedroom home), transportation, clothing, costs pertaining to investments on dependent's talents or future (i.e., school, activities, or lessons)?

Did you have a minimum wage job or a job that didn't pay enough to save or invest with as well as pay the bills at that time?

Did you lose your job at that time?

Could you not find any meaningful work, or work that paid similar to the job you lost when you went looking for work at that time?

Were your wages and benefits frozen and you couldn't find another job that paid as well as the one you were stuck at? (I fell into this category - wages frozen)

Were you disabled, or partially disabled during that time? (Spouse disabled on SSDI, I just came off of worker's comp, had just started over a year previous at half the salary I had prior to 2005 when I was injured)

Were you relying on a 401K, a ESOP/SEP, company stock matching, or Pension Plan for your retirement, rather than buying your own retirement accounts? (I fell into this category)

Did your 401K, ESOP, company stock, or Pension Plan lose almost to over 40% of it's value, and you've now only just caught up to where you were at in 2008? (My parents and I both fell into this category)

Were you invested in mutual funds or stocks for retirement, rather than a safe/stable retirement fund or was the rate on your retirement account linked to market rates?

Did you "foolishly" buy a house at the wrong time, from the wrong lender, or were you a victim of mortgage fraud as your title was parceled out and bundled into a several sub-prime mortgage packages, where a secondary lienholder wasn't getting paid, so they foreclosed on you when you thought you were paying your mortgage to the primary lien holder? (My landlord fell into this category)

Were you forced to move during this time? (We had to "break our lease" and find another rental as the house we were renting got foreclosed on - and it cost us around $5K to move)

Were you or your kids going to College? (I was, but luckily, I was able to get grants)

Did you have unexpected Medical Bills? Did your medical insurance premiums cost go up 25 - 70% between 2008 and 2010? (I fell into this category)

Did you have to dip into your dwindling 401K, ESOP, or Pension fund for an early withdrawal to pay for any of the situations above? (I fell into this category, too)


If not, Congratulations! You were one of the almost 20% of Americans who survived the 2008/2009 with very little economic discomfort at all. Just as there were about 20% of Americans who were never really affected by the Great Depression of the 1930's.

Your "secret" worked...for you, because you were apparently in that "sweet spot" of financial circumstances where you could practice that secret.

But unless I was willing to raise a family in the minivan for a year or so, it wouldn't have worked for me and my family, no matter how hard I tried to make it work.
I lost money on my retirement - 2 years worth of growth, plus the $10K we had to pull over those two years to pay for emergencies we didn't have savings to cover. And being closer and closer to the point of retiring (probably 10 - 15 years), I can't make up those lost years and still pay for everything that, as a family, we need to pay for.
Do I give up healthy food that keeps myself, my husband, and my grandkids healthy and somewhat active, and allows me to continue to work at the level I need to work? That's just trading food costs for health costs.

Do I kick my dependent grandchildren (covered under my health plan),out of the house to live with their struggling and emotionally challenged parents to live out of the cheap room rental they live in now with a single friend who can't handle kids?
That's denying them a stable, loving home they can depend on, which impacts their future as well as ours. I'm just transferring the cost of helping to raise them into value for a retirement that will be worth less in the long run if we want to remain part of their lives. An opportunity cost to me, true - but not everything can be monetized.

I've cut everything I can in costs, but my 401K with it's munificent current amount of $46,000 and outstanding "loan" sitting around $2K to cover the additional cost of the birth of the second grandbaby last year is still only going to get 2% of my paycheck and grow at a snail's pace unless I can either get a government job or my employer decides to give me a 15% raise and cut the cost of the premium on our company medical.

Haele

[DebJ]

139. Great response!

[fadedrose]

4. Bush ain't too bright if he thinks he can cut medicare

It might make the rich happy, but luckily, they're only 1% of the population. The rest need medicare and SS.

Somebody should let that jackass know that seniors are having trouble paying the deductibles if they have to make more than a couple of visits a year and have to take one or two tests...

[Dustlawyer]

20. They might succeed if they convince younger generations they won't get it anyway and older

folks are spending their money. Why need a whole new system when raising the caps on SS deductions would fix this and make the wealthy start to pay their fair share. They act like people on SS live high on the hog when the opposite is true!

[fadedrose]

68. Bernie wants to raise the caps

so that it's funded longer...

Wonder where HC stands on this...s

[YOHABLO]

86. They ought to do away with caps altogether. Make them pay 100% like the rest of us.

These extremely rich folks, and it seems the U.S. has a lot of them, are making most of their money from interest and dividends. Now I can't hardly save squat and as for dividends .. oh please, like I can invest in the stock market. They pay FICA taxes on only their first $108,000; and they make millions. They've never flipped a burger or cleaned a toilet in their life. And now they want to take SS away from the elderly and disabled. Let them try. They ain't seen nothin yet.

[YOHABLO]

83. Yeah, they've been trying to convince the younger generations that there won't be SS for them.

It's utter bullshit. What they want is to privatize it so they can make billions off of your money.

[customerserviceguy]

152. The whole system is hand-to-mouth, you know that, don't you?

The woman who asked Jebbie the question seems to think that there is some invisible 'bank account' where her money got squirrelled away for her future. Every dime the entitlement systems collected all of those years went right back out the door for somebody else's benefit.

And if we raise the caps without reforming the formula for the maximum benefit, we're not going to solve a thing.

[riversedge]

5. I hate that word --entitlement!! good on that lady.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. “It’s not an entitlement,” BOOM! About fucking time someone said it. nt

[pnwmom]

12. It's too bad the word got ruined because it actually means the opposite of what many people think.

The reason it was called an entitlement was because we all paid into it and therefore were entitled to it -- unlike welfare, which was a form of charity.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

14. I realize I didn't put any nuance into my reply but it's true. It

disgusts me that in a way I've ended up playing their bullshit game. It is an entitlement, which is earned. Of course when we say that it gets turned around and twisted.

[freshwest]

17. The GOP is determined to STEAL our retirement to fund their lifestyle.

It's just plain THEFT.

And Bush is a THIEF!

[cascadiance]

133. Ask Bush to qualify it to be needing to reform UNEARNED entitlements!

and if we agreed to that, then just about all that we would be saving would be the cuts to the GIFTS that the wealthy get when they don't f'ing do enough to really earn the amount of money they get these days!

[ieoeja]

157. Do you think Bush was actualy talking about Welfare?

No, he was not. He was talking about social security and medicare. He meant exactly what he said. He wants to "reform" (i.e. get rid of) social security and medicare.

They are saying exactly what they mean. And idiots like the this woman help them by misusing the word entitlement.

[MADem]

22. Yes indeed!!! That word was LUNTZed before that turd Luntz appeared on the scene with his shitty

linguistic tricks.

We ARE entitled to it--the word was ruined because as children, our parents would snark at us when we asked for things that were beyond their pocketbooks...."Well now, Fauntleroy, you think you're ENTITLED to that trip to Disneyland?" and thus, the word acquired this negative meaning.

[JHB]

61. The word-conflation was strategic

Last edited Fri Jul 24, 2015, 10:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Conservatives put out big hare'em-scare'em numbers about how big a part of the budget entitlement spending was, and then go into their "welfare queen" rants. All the while never mentioning that by far the lion's share of the numbers they bandied about was due to Social Security and Medicare.

But then, if people had heard more accurate numbers a number of them would have thought "oh, is THAT all?", which wasn't what the Reaganites wanted.

But then, for conservatives of that ilk, particularly the ones with lots of money to donate to politicians, Social Security and Medicare are "communist" too, and they want to eliminate them. And that's who Jeb! was playing to.

[harun]

96. Real definitions have no place in American Politics. Entitlement is used by all the GOP'rs

as code for something for nothing to lazy people.

Others:

"Inner city" = black poor
"American interests" = Israel protection and or oil
"American values" = Wealthy Judeo Christian interests
"Illegal alien" = poor latino's

To name a few...

[Hamlette]

141. you don't have to pay in for it to be an entitlement

it is that the law says you are "entitled" if you meet certain eligibility criteria that makes it an entitlement.

For instance, unemployment is an entitlement but you, the worker, do not pay for it. (Except in a couple of states and the workers contribution pays for extras like disability coverage).

The GOP has cried for years was "get rid of entitlements" turning it into a dirty word They rarely go against getting rid of UI entirely because they understand it would be bad for business. (Think Great Depression when there was a slippery slope because no one had any money to buy what you were selling.) Getting rid of social security won't do that to the same extent. But 90% of the medical costs you incur in your life you incur in your last 2 years of life. You'd think getting rid of Medicare would be horrible for the medical sector but they don't raise their voice so much. I suspect part of that is because the Medicare reimbursement is low and they have always bitched about that. They don't want to be seen defending the program when they as a profession have complained so much. But, you can bet they are complaining behind the scenes which is why this goes nowhere.

[aggiesal]

23. I believe that the GOP is ...

trying to make the word "entitlement" a bad word like they tried with "liberal".

In fact we should be screaming from every rooftop that it is an entitlement,
because we paid into it. We're ENTITLED to it, because we paid into it.
Social Security is our money because we paid into it.
Medicare is our service because we paid into it.

[JDPriestly]

44. If we are not entitled to Medicare and Social Security then they are not

entitled to their dividends, stock price increases, interest, bonuses or capital gains or whatever it is they live on.

We invested our money in the Social Security fund. The government borrows form that fund, pays interest to it, and the interest accrues to the fund from which our benefits are taken. In addition, our benefits could be paid from the money now paid in Social Security taxes, however, the fact is that we paid extra so that we would have a trust fund ready for our retirement since there are so many of us.

Jeb Bush is just trying to cheat seniors.

I realize that Medicare is not paid from a trust fund, but, sorry, medical and nursing home care is expensive. Nobody can foresee how much money their care in their final years will require. Without Medicare, seniors would not be able to take advantage of the developments of medicine and science that prolong life and everybody including the 1% would lose out if that technology and medicine were not used much and therefore cost even more than it does now.

Jeb Bush is simply wrong in his views on Medicare and Social Security. Medicare makes a lot of progress in medicine possible. And without it seniors would die unable to benefit from medical procedures and medications we now have. We would not be able to afford medicine when we most need it -- when we are very old and very sick.

We need Medicare much more than we need our oversized military. We need to be able to defend our country. We don't need to be able to invade any country on earth. And we need to be able to live healthy lives as long as possible.

[D Gary Grady]

154. A technical quibble about trust funds

I very much agree with the core of what you have to say. I have only a couple of minor technical quibbles.

Social Security benefits have always been paid for by current taxes coming in. (This is what allowed meaningful monthly benefits to be paid starting only a few years after the Act was passed; otherwise that would have taken decades.) The Trust Fund serves the same purpose as a reservoir in a water system, i.e., to collect any surplus taxes in fat years and cover shortfalls in lean ones. As you say, in the 1980s the tax rate was raised to build up an even bigger surplus in order to cover projected shortfalls resulting from Baby Boomer retirements. Even so, the Trust Fund is currently projected to run out of money in about 20 years (the latest Trustees' report pushed it an additional year into the future), but since the Trust Fund needed only to make up shortfalls, even without benefits will be reduced by only 20-25 percent or so.

The exact timing and amount depends on the future economy. The Trustees' best guess is that the Fund will run dry, but in their more optimistic economic scenario, the Trust Fund never runs out for the full 75-year planning horizon.

There is a Medicare Trust Fund as well, by the way, and it's in a worse state than Social Security's, but projections for it have markedly improved since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which (besides the parts we hear about) expanded Medicare benefits and greatly improved its financial state -- pretty much the diametric opposite of what our Republican friends have been telling senior citizens in their effort to get rid of "Obamacare." (For a couple of decades GOP strategists have warned that successful healthcare reform would benefit Democrats politically and seriously damage Republicans.)

Also in passing, Medicare covers only some very limited nursing home stays. Elderly persons in need of long-term nursing care end up spending all their savings until they qualify for Medicaid. Last I checked, more than half the cost of Medicaid goes to caring for the elderly poor, and a good portion of the rest goes toward taking care of children and the severely disabled, though I think most conservatives envision the money being spent on adults to lazy to work.

[JDPriestly]

155. Taxes should be assessed on inheritances including all the loophole passing of money

through trusts, etc. to heirs, and that money should be used to fund Medicare and Medicaid.

The tax would not need to be very high because a lot of big estates are passed through mechanisms like sales below cost or the transfer of stocks, etc. Small estates should be exempt of course.

[vanlassie]

7. Please continue, JEB!

[SheilaT]

8. 45 years ago it was a common meme that

Social Security and Medicare wouldn't be here when we, my age mates, would retire. I'd argue with them then that if they persist in thinking that way, they'll only make it easy to take Social Security and Medicare away from us.

I'm now 66, on Medicare, not yet collecting Social Security, and it grieves me mightily that the youngsters persist in being willing to believe these things won't be there for them.

We all pay into it. We all deserve to benefit.

The problem with those who think we need to "reform" them is that they simply don't know anyone at all who actually depends on Social Security or Medicare, and they think it's really easy to do without them. They haven't a clue. They need to be required to live for at least a year on a minimum wage, in a public contact job. With no health insurance. A year, minimum.

[JDPriestly]

45. I'm sick of having to choose between two very, very rich people when I vote.

None of them understand what it is like to earn a living.

[SheilaT]

46. Yep.

Hillary Clinton saying that they were flat broke when they left the White House is an excellent indicator that she hasn't a clue what flat broke really means. They were never in danger of losing their home. They never went hungry, had to decide which bill to pay.

I've been relatively poor, and I've gone without the occasional meal, but I've never been on the street, I've never had to worry about my electric being turned off. And that's the difference.

I've at least been close enough to the bottom to have a clue what it's like. Hillary Clinton? She's never been anywhere near the bottom.

This is also why I get so impatient with those who decide to live on a food stamp budget for a week. A week? Go at least three months, then you'll have a clue.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

58. I think saying you are "flat broke" is a

Relative term and has nothing to do with whether or not you can or can not fathom what it is like to be truly poor.

[LynneSin]

75. The Clintons were not born into wealth the way the Bush kids were

I understand that the Clintons are wealthy now, but Bill Clinton was born into poverty where as Hillary Rodham came from a middle class family. At least both of them came from backgrounds were they understood what it was like to earn their way when they were younger, something that neither George Bush or Jeb Bush understood.

I realize that today Hillary Clinton is no longer in that position but at least she was there at one time. I would hardly call the Rodhams millionaires in the same way that I would call the Bush family.

[AwakeAtLast]

130. Good point!

None of the BFEE knows anything about life below the $10,000,000 line.

Hey you!

[katmille]

156. Clintons not born into wealth

I think what Hillary said about being "dead broke" when they left the White House was unfortunate, but how many of us have said things like that. "I was very poor as a child," could mean anything from being really poor to not being able to afford what some of your classmates. I once said, "We put everything into this project and now we have nothing," when a venture failed. Then my sister said: "You have NOTHING? You have a job, you have a house, you have a car (we had to sell another car) you have plenty to eat!" I was ashamed, because even though my husband was out of work, I DID have a job; we DID have a house and one car. So my saying we have "nothing" was an exaggeration, much as Hillary's was an exaggeration.
The Bushes? Well, that is a totally different story, and not a pleasant one!!

[strategery blunder]

80. The only reason why I believe SS won't be there for me (I'm 30)...

...is because greedy-ass politician$ want to loot it to line their own pockets and those of their contributors (Jeb, I'm looking at you).

I do fear that it will be privatized before I see it as the Republicans catapult the propaganda so heavily even Kim Jong Un could learn from them. But that sure as hell doesn't mean I support them and their schemes.

The only SS "reforms" I want to see are raising the cap, and possibly applying it to certain investment income as well. Anything else is a plot to subvert SS.

--Someone who was too young to vote in the 2000 election but woke up the next morning and SMELLED THE CORRUPTION

[KansDem]

85. What a coincidence: I starting paying into Social Security 45 years ago...

(46 years, to be precise)

And I resent like Hell those folks who want to take it from me.

Like the woman said, "It's not an 'entitlement'--I earned it!"

If Jeb wants to do something about the debt, then he can get the money from his brother who lied us into an unnecessary war costing trillions and adding that to the national debt.

To Hell with these rich f*cks who think they are entitled to our sweat and tears!

[MrMickeysMom]

9. Fuckin A, yessiree, Ma'am… we sure DID pay for it...

We're all paying for it. I hate it when the knuckle draggers refer to it as "entitlements"

Wanna talk about entitlement, Jeb? How about… war profiteers and the military?

While we're at it, how about stripping Jeb buck naked and sending him over there?

[nc4bo]

10. ......they don't call it the 3rd rail for nuttin, Jebbie.

[Marie Marie]

13. Zzzzzaaappp....

Oh he is going to feel the sting of this. Don't mess with Seniors - they actually show up to vote.

[TheNutcracker]

18. Ha ha ha, the most reliable voting block! Azzhat he is. I'll bet Poppy is on Medicare!

[CajunBlazer]

19. Jeb should talk to his brother, the source of the problem.....

When Bill Clinton left the White House the budget was balanced and Social Security was funded for the foreseeable future. Then came "W" who decided to fight a couple of wars without raising taxes - the first time that has been tried in the country's history. When he left office eight years later, the Social Security system was in deep and serious trouble and the country was headed for the biggest down turn since the great depression. That's why SS is fully funded.

Maybe the Bush millionaires can get together and contribute enough to right the ship.

[aggiesal]

26. Your statement ..

[font color=RED]Then came "W" who decided to fight a couple of wars without raising taxes - the first time that has been tried in the country's history.[/font]

It is the first time in the history of the world that taxes weren't raised to pay for any wars.
Kings, Tyrants and other leaders of their country raised taxes to pay for their wars, but not
G.W. McIdiot.

[Kensan]

120. Even worse...

Bush championed and signed two massive TAX CUTS that were extremely tilted to the benefit of the 1%. The drop in tax revenues at the federal level set the stage for all the cuts in needed funding for programs at all levels of government for the last decade.

[Chemisse]

21. Every single senior needs to react like that.

I can't believe the complacency people - for years! - all while Republicans (and some Dems) consider gutting the measly social security checks.

[PADemD]

25. What about the supplemental insurance?

Wouldn't it be better to pay Medicare for additional insurance instead of a private health care insurer?

$100 Monthly Medicare contribution, pays 80%
$147 Monthly Supplemental Insurance, pays 20%

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. Those people have NEVER been able to explain their business model....

They claim it's cheaper to run it at a profit and pay executives and shareholders than to run it at cost.

The ONLY reason they say it works out cheaper is their belief that the government can't do ANYTHING right.

[PatrickforO]

27. BEAUTIFUL!!!! K&R X 1,000

[Dawson Leery]

28. Medicare is an earned benefit along with Social Security.

That God Damn family knows nothing but to take from other people and give to their overly privileged crime partners.

[udbcrzy2]

29. Video clip

I found the video clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=9z4xyYhKRNg

[closeupready]

84. He is so the spitting image of his father in that clip.

GWB took after his mother, but Jeb has his father's mannerisms and demeanor.

[SusanaMontana41]

121. Thank you for that! Enjoyed the clip. n/t

[udbcrzy2]

123. You are welcome. He's so smug n/t

[DebJ]

140. Thanks for the clip now I'm really banging my head against the wall........

Here's a line they keep applying to Social Security:
"More money is being taken out than is being put in"

This is why the Social Security rates were jacked waayyy up over the course of my lifetime, so the money would be there when
Boomers retired. So that more COULD be taken out when we retired.

This is a poor example, but it's the best I can do: You put money in savings all your life. Then, you are 65, and have some small side earnings of say 10,000 a year. The bank tells you that you can only have 10,000 a year or else you are taking out more than you are earning and will be overdrawn.......um, that's what the savings was for.

And a point I've never seen explained with numerical projections: they seem to act like Boomers will live forever, and will be taking Social Security benefits still 50 years from now. 50 years from now, we will all be dead, and long before that, we will by dying off. I've never seen this taken into account and explained. Has anyone else? I'd like to see that.


And they speak of an 'option' to work longer, as if this is some viable choice anyone can just make. Just ask people over 50 who have TRIED to get employment the last few years. Ha! The employers choose, not the employees, and they do NOT choose people over 50 when younger people are available........something Right Wingers deny all the time, instead insisting that if you are out of work, you aren't looking or need to get retraining, etc, as if there is no age barrier at all. Bush et al speaks like employees just need to consider and choose to work more years, when this is NOT an option if employers won't change their perspectives and be willing to hire older workers.

And if you are in the lower income brackets, chances are that your body just can't take any more abuse and you are lucky to make it to 65. Over the course of my 40 years of working, I spent just 10 years managing restaurants. That meant standing on concrete floors for 12 hour shifts and having to return to work quite often with less than 8 hours to sleep, eat and bathe in-between and doing that for up to 9 days in a row without a day off, destroying my feet and my knees and therefore also impacting my hips. Most days I wasn't allowed adequate staffing during slow times so I couldn't leave the service area even to use the restroom, and leaving the area during peak times was an offense for which one's employment was terminated, and my bladder now suffers the consequences of that policy. On average, I didn't eat at all 2 days a week because I wasn't given more than 10-15 minutes 'break' to eat, and my stomach couldn't settle down enough to eat after so many hours of running at full-speed ahead; after the shift I'd just immediately crash so as to try to catch at least 6 hours of sleep before having to open the store the next morning after closing it the night before and getting home at midnight. I hobble around all the time now, and I'm just turning 60. And yet restaurant work is far less damaging than many other jobs, that's for sure. Now, if you have a better (and higher paying job) that allowed sufficient income to support a family (less cortisol/stress hormones constantly circulating and damaging your body for decades), that was likely less physically stressful as well, and you have a lesser need for social security due to higher earnings. Those are the people screaming: get rid of social security. Work more years.......fine, let them work and pay into it. I can't. My body has been wracked from those above me on the ladder who got their pay from my physical labors, and they retired well, with bodies that DIDN'T get put through the physical stress and strain, having had nice leisurely lunches for decades, given enough time to sleep and rest, and enough earnings to pay the bills instead of wondering how your child will get a new coat next winter..... And I only did that type of work for about 10 years. I just can't imagine the hell of people who did that and much worse for 40 years and more..........

[Spitfire of ATJ]

30. They want to convert Social Security into a government run pension fund and then rip it off....

Worked in Greece.

[Dr Rise]

31. Rich people need special rules placed on them

Especially if they are in power. They can do so much damage to so many.

[Warpy]

32. "Entitlement" is what Jeb! inherited when he won the genetic lottery

Money entitles him to look down his nose at Medicare and Social Security because he doesn't need the former and considers the latter to be chump change.

Good for the woman, reminding him that it's INSURANCE and we've all paid a lifetime's premiums to get it.

"Entitlement" my ass.

[Diremoon]

34. Republican Playbook

He, and every other damn republican not only wants to take away medicare, they want to take social security, Medicaid, your pension, your savings, your house, and every other damn thing you have, including the fillings in your teeth, and turn you into fertilizer.

[catrose]

35. Bravo, lady!

[Gothmog]

38. Jeb is lying-Medicare is not failing

[hibbing]

39. reform our entitlement system

When anyone says that it means spending cuts, just like "tax reform" always consists of tax cuts for the 1%.


Peace

[oldandhappy]

40. Yes,M'am

You are a great lady standing up for yourself and all of us. Kuddos!!

I wrote (not email) a snail mail note to Jeb today to say I vote andI like Medicare. Please join me.

[murielm99]

41. Good for her!

It is NOT an entitlement. Jebbie is the one who thinks he is entitled, with all his family money.

"Entitlement" is one of their words. It is an example of how they twist the language to make ordinary people and the programs that help them look bad. It is the same thing as their attempt to turn "liberal" into a dirty word, or to use "Obamacare" as an epithet.

Turn their skewing of the language against them!

[StarzGuy]

43. Medicare and Social Security are not entitlements they are benefits earned

Rich butt heads like bush have small minds. They can never experience what I and millions of other seniors deal with day in and day out. Even with these two programs I have difficulty getting food. Let alone, paying for rent and utilities. Now add a 10 year old auto that needs repairs from time to time and you really see what it is like to be poor allthewhile on Medicare and Social Security. I do have a small federal pension, but with even adding these dollars it's still no enough to live a decent life in the town I reside.

[yellowdogintexas]

147. repeating all this garbage often enough makes those who do not know history or

who believe Faux or Rush like they were god or something believe it is actually true

[WillyT]

47. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[steve2470]

48. k&r nt

[Generic Other]

49. I am entitled to it the same way I am entitled

to a paycheck at the end of the work week. I earned it.

They need to pay me my money down and STFU.

[merrily]

51. Good for her. New Democrats also refer to "entitlements"

and think they need to be "reformed."

[eridani]

53. Looks like we're all doing it now. I mean referring to Jeb Bush by his first name only

We should not let the only candidate too ashamed of his last name to use it in his campaign get by with this. Call him Bush from now on, and reinforce the connection with his idiot brother that he is so desperate to avoid.

[JHB]

62. True. Perhaps we can modify that...

Jeb!

Jeb$

#Jeb!&*%$@$*!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

93. Call him John - that's his first name - really throw him for a loop!

[jeff47]

103. His name is John Ellis Bush.

Jeb Bush is saying "John Ellis Bush Bush".

[B Calm]

54. It's funny how republicans roll the word entitlement off their tongues as if they don't understand

the meaning of the word.

[n2doc]

55. Good for her. Follow up questions

Why do we HAVE TO 'reform'? Is the entire Government going to have no money then? Why should SS be treated differently at that point than other money losing government agencies like the Military?

[bobGandolf]

56. Pay back what you "A-holes "borrowed" from S.S. and it will be fine.

[Babel_17]

59. All too rare that cause and effect happen so quickly

Republicans usually manage to avoid getting called out, in a timely manner, on their gaffes. Bush refers to being "grown-up", apparently he uses it in the sense of those who want to see government, and the tax system, continue to work in their favor.

Politicians like Bush need to wake up to the fact that their not the only ones capable of acting in their own self interest. Having a senior citizen politely point out the truth, to their annoyance, will soon be the least of their problems if they don't mend their ways.

[raouldukelives]

64. What Wall St investors pay for, we all have to live with.

The more money, the more access, the more power Wall St wields, the less all of our abilities to not only make things better, but to begin to address them at all.

They want it all. They don't care who or what dies a horrible death, as long as they can party like its 1999 with the proceeds.

If that isn't abundantly clear to anyone by now, well. I don't know.

You can spend your one lifetime trying to right the wrongs or you can fund those doing the wrongs in exchange for a taste of the profits of discomfort and death.

Some may use some of those profits to try and do good. But at the end of the day, it is no different than a member of PETA who profits from dogfights and then uses some of the profits to stand for the poor dogs once in awhile.

Gee. Thanks.

[yellowcanine]

65. “It’s not an entitlement,” the woman shot back. “I earned that.” Bravo, I am woman, hear me roar!

"Entitlement" is the new Republican code word for "giveaway." As long as it is something ordinary people depend on. As opposed to welfare for business. Then it is "investment incentives"

[Fritz Walter]

66. He's right about one thing

“We need to have a grown-up conversation about these issues.”

And you, James Ellis BUSH, will not be included in that conversation, because you're even more immature, irresponsible and downright incompetent than your misbegotten brother -- and I'm not talking about Neil here.

Now, go away!

[classof56]

77. Amen! And welcome to DU!

[lewebley3]

125. Jeb is just another failed Presidency in the making!

[daybranch]

73. Isn't it amazing that the rich

believe we do not even have any rights to the earnings from our labors. Every penny they could not get in the past, they want now. Attacks on Social Security and Medicare are the death knell of republican candidates. Most older Republican voters depend on social security and regard these efforts as theft.

Bush is just another republican side show to distract from Bernie Sanders growing support as the billionaire class work to use main stream media to elect Hillary.

No constant dribbling of Hillary support for popular social causes will succeed in obfuscating that she is the preferred candidate of the billionaire class and will attempt nothing of consequence to challenge the economic and political dominance.
they have over the people through political lackeys.

[tblue]

76. Meet the New Bush

Same as the Old Bush.

And just as dim. Please let this be on video!

[avaistheone1]

148. Well said.

I will give you an amen.

[Helen Borg]

78. Bush is a lying piece of shit.

[navarth]

79. Love me some threads where Bernie and Hillary supporters are all in agreement. eom

[JoePhilly]

99. +1

[irisblue]

132. + 2

[packman]

81. "ENTITLEMENT" - funny how that works

That woman should have finished her remark with, "The entitlement is what you pricks are stealing from us to support the military-industrial complex" Thank you Pres. Eisenhower for being such a prophet.

[hamsterjill]

82. Whoever this woman is, I'd like to give her a big hug!

Good for her for getting the words out! It's NOT an entitlement!

[blackspade]

87. And therein lies part of the problem.

One is entitled to something when they paid into it for years and years.

[Lex]

89. Well you ARE "entitled" to it because you DID pay for it.

That's what entitled means but somehow it now means the opposite.

[blackspade]

98. Exactly.

The GOP and M$M has perverted the meaning of yet another word....

[steve2470]

90. Bush is going to rue the day he opened his big stupid mouth on this topic...

It's caught on tape, and he can't deny it. THE DNC NEEDS TO HAMMER THIS HOME UNTIL THE DEAD HORSE FIGHTS BACK!

Jeb, you just lost the election, you idiot.

[Hepburn]

92. No shit, Gramma!

I paid into SS for YEARS...and now Jebbie wants it to go away??? Fuck him.

[EndElectoral]

94. And I thought GW was stupid! LOL!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

95. “It’s not an entitlement,” the woman shot back. “I earned that.”

aw, jeez.... Edith!!!!

[muntrv]

100. “It’s not an entitlement,” the woman shot back. “I earned that.”

NUFF SAID!!!!!!

[still_one]

102. excellent call back. "It's not an entitlement, I earned that". Not only did she earn it, she paid

for it in her taxes.

If they really want to do something about entitlements, I suggest start with the military.

As far as social security, raise the cap, problem solved.

As soon as this group of baby boomers work they way through, the system will start to become positive, unless of course congress decides to borrow, er I mean STEAL, money from the social security fund to finance wars like Iraq, and if the republicans have their way Iran.

This is really getting to be old hat, but the issues and differences between republicans and Democrats have never been so obvious

[abakan]

104. Go Granny Go!

Slap him upside the head with truth and shame him with his mean spirited ugliness.

[chapdrum]

106. It is not about stupidity or not getting it;

it is about the sheer and utter fraudulence of the entire Bush family.
If they did not know exactly what they are saying and doing, they would not be as successful as they are.
Over and over again, we are obliged to take them seriously, at all.
Everyone loves a winner.

[C Moon]

108. I almost always hear "entitlement" used in a negative way...

That's why that bastard used that word. Arrogance.
He could have put it another way, but these rich GOP greedy a-holes, think they are "entitled" to all the U.S. finances—and then they dole some out to the rest of us.
I guess we can thank Reagan's years for the beginning of that.

[Johnny2X2X]

110. Life or death

These spoiled rich Republicans have no clue that they're talking about programs that people literally need to stay alive. It's a punch line to them, it's life or death to millions.

[HockeyMom]

112. He didn't learn anything being Governor of Florida?

Phase out Medicare? Kiss your Home State Goodbye, Jebbie.

[steve2470]

115. apparently not

I doubt he has one friend or family member who needs Medicare. They probably all have tons of cash and/or excellent insurance policies. Can we say bubble ?

[Keep-Left]

113. what is amazing is

this was a Elderly woman ripping a top Dem it would be a lead on CNN & Foxnews.


Thank you to whoever that lady was!

[lark]

114. Go, granny, go!!

Next time Jeb might want to not use that awful loaded RW canard of "entitlements". BS - this is no entitlement. Entitlement is Jeb thinking he should be president because it's "all in the family". Losing is what will happen for sure if he keeps this up. People will not go for cutting Medicare or SSI, his brother tried and failed dismally.

[DinahMoeHum]

116. AFAIC, Jeb Bush is a DFW. Politically.

Dead. Fuck. Walking.

He touched on a "third rail" (Medicare) - other "third rails" include Social Security.

[d_legendary1]

117. I would love to call her my grandma!

She gets how toxic the cons are when it comes to taking away something they paid for. Glad she's aware that Republicans are not her friend!

[snot]

118. Raise the cap on SS-taxable earnings (i.e., make the rich pay more––

they've paid far less in taxes of all kinds than they should have for decades).

[PATRICK]

119. Useful lesson from the past

Isn't it true that Jeb once dashed into a janitorial closet to avoid the "mob"? Maybe he has to keep his venues near convenient hidey holes.

[wolfie001]

124. He's not even gonna try with the "compassionate conservative" bullshit

Piece of shit like his brother.

[glinda]

126. But see....they view it like "Health Insurance".

[Uncle Joe]

127. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[LuckyTheDog]

128. Jeb so going to lose.

Jeb might manage to get the nomination because, let's face it, who else does the GOP have who isn't nuts? (Well, OK, there's Lindsey Graham. But that dude's so far in the closet that he shops for his groceries at the Kroger in Narnia. I just don't see the base going for him. So, that leaves Jeb.) But eventually, Jeb is going to lose.

[Gormy Cuss]

129. It IS an entitlement. That is not the issue.

This issued is this class-entitled Bush is trying to end government entitlements that work.


BTW, it's not an entitlement because you paid into it. It's an entitlement because you meet the qualifications for the program. SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) is an entitlement program.
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/entitlement_program

[MisterP]

131. the political stratum sees us as greedy geezers and dependent deadbeat ballast

we are to be disciplined and reformed, we are to have our safety nets slashed, and made jump through hoops just to keep body and soul together to "encourage" us to work until we're 70, they sweet-talk us with promises of economic booms and lush 401ks and yet all the money ends up in their friends' pockets somehow--and THAT'S JUST THE DEMS

this state of affairs will continue indefinitely as long as we keep rewarding the self-selecting political class--and they're a political class precisely because they've seized every lever that might dislodge them

[LiberalElite]

135. GOOD FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eom

[Gumboot]

138. Damn straight it's not an 'entitlement'...

... It's an earned benefit. A government fund this woman has paid into for her whole life, and now Jeb the pleb thinks he can come along and loot it all, in his crooked family's usual style.

If I'd been there, I would have thrown my shoe at Lil' Jebbie. Better get ready to duck dumbass, someone's bringing a steel-toed Red Wing boot with your name on it to one of those town halls real soon.

[red dog 1]

142. K&R...Thanks for posting

[Vinca]

143. Good for her.

If anything happens to Medicare, it should be expanded.

[NaturalHigh]

144. Jeb gets more desperate and idiotic by the minute.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

145. This issue is DOA for the Monkey's Brother

I'm amazed he went there.

[greymattermom]

146. All of them are doing this on purpose

The want the campaign funds and a few months to year in the spotlight, but none of the Republican clown car actually want to be president. Didn't one of them once say that it's a hard job? Right?

[avaistheone1]

149. k&r

[davidpdx]

151. She's absolutely right

The term needs to be changed so that people fundamentally think of it differently.

[LoisB]

158. Even after you retire, you continue to pay into Medicare based on your income

(including social security, withdrawals from your IRA, interest, etc.). The minimum monthly premium is $104.90.