The "Senior Tax": Republican Leadership Wants To Dip Into Social Security To Pay For Wars

Rachel Weiner wrote an article for The Washington Post today that showed exactly how much the Republican party cares for the aging population of America - by raising the retirement age for Social Security to 70.

The Republicans aren't considering raising the age so they can be more fiscally responsible.  Instead, they believe the age should be raised so they can fund the wars in Afghanistan.  Senate Minorty Leader John Boehner offered this suggestion in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Ensuring there's enough money to pay for the war will require reforming the country's entitlement system, Boehner said. He said he'd favor increasing the Social Security retirement age to 70 for people who have at least 20 years until retirement, tying cost-of-living increases to the consumer price index rather than wage inflation and limiting payments to those who need them.

"We need to look at the American people and explain to them that we're broke," Boehner said. "If you have substantial non-Social Security income while you're retired, why are we paying you at a time when we're broke? We just need to be honest with people."

Here is a question for the Minority Leader: "If we are so broke, why do you still want to wage war over seas?"

Here is another thought - Boehner stated that the GOP "are going to do everything we can to make sure that [health care reform] never really takes effect."

Does this strategy include the GOP trying to break the bank to insure the program can't survive?  Are they trying to prolong the war to bankrupt the nation, so they can have an excuse to eliminate social programs like universal health care and Social Security?

What ever happened to that RNC's "Seniors Health Care Bill Of Rights?"  It must have been one big joke because every page that linked to it now directs you to some sort of GOP Valentine's Day e-card selection.

I did find one source that reposted the RNC's little "Bill of Rights" and thought Boehner's statements seemed to contradict the spirit of the document.  While the "Bill of Rights" focused primarily on health care, playing off the conservative talking point at the time that the Obama administration planned to gut Medicare and Medicaid to pay for health care reform, it seems that Boehner's comments aim to do what the Bill claimed to protect seniors against.

ENSURE SENIORS CAN KEEP THEIR CURRENT COVERAGE: As Democrats continue to propose steep cuts to Medicare in order to pay for their government-run health care experiment, these cuts threaten millions of seniors with being forced from their current Medicare Advantage plans. Republicans believe that seniors should not be targeted by a government-run health care bill and forced out of their current Medicare coverage.

Republicans claimed the Democrats were going to take away seniors' entitlements to pay for health care reform.  That sounds similar to what Boehner is proposing - taking away seniors' entitlements to pay for the war overseas.  Republicans believe that seniors should be targeted and forced out of their current Social Security benefits.

PROHIBIT EFFORTS TO RATION HEALTH CARE BASED ON AGE: The Democrats' government-run health care experiment would set up a "comparative effectiveness research commission" where health care treatment decisions could be limited based on a patient's age. Republicans believe that health care decisions are best left up to seniors and their doctors.

Republicans claimed the Democrats were going to set up "death panels" to ration care.  Boehner proposes Republicans ration Social Security based on age.

ENSURE SENIORS CAN KEEP THEIR CURRENT COVERAGE: As Democrats continue to propose steep cuts to Medicare in order to pay for their government-run health care experiment, these cuts threaten millions of seniors with being forced from their current Medicare Advantage plans. Republicans believe that seniors should not be targeted by a government-run health care bill and forced out of their current Medicare coverage.

In order to pay for the war in Afghanistan, Boehner believes seniors should be targeted for the funds and forced out of their current Social Security coverage.

PROHIBIT GOVERNMENT FROM GETTING BETWEEN SENIORS AND THEIR DOCTORS: The Democrats' government-run health care experiment will give patients less power to control their own medical decisions, and create government boards that would decide what treatments would or wouldn't be funded. Republicans believe in patient-centered reforms that put the priorities of seniors before government.  

Boehner is for getting between seniors and their Social Security.  Seniors have put money into the system for a specific purpose and now Republicans want to dip into those funds to pay for their wars.

John Boehner is just one big hypocrite and I hope seniors realize that the GOP tried to scare them last fall only for their support against health care reform.  Now that they lost that battle, the GOP is working on a new angle, hoping those seniors they once claimed to protect will be okay with them getting in between their benefits...