With more than one million South Carolinians benefiting from Social Security and over 900,000 from Medicare, one would think Republicans would work to protect the programs and its benefits for seniors. Instead, almost everyone on the debate stage tonight would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits by raising the retirement age and partially voucherizing Medicare.
After all, GOP contenders like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are still chasing Koch money, which is why they support one of the Koch brothers’ first policy demands to gut Social Security and Medicare.
Here’s how Republicans on stage would weaken Social Security and Medicare:
- Ted Cruz would raise Social Security and Medicare’s
eligibility ages. He’d move Medicare to a premium support system and threaten Social Security by shifting it to private accounts. As a bonus, Cruz would institute means-testing for both Security and Medicare! - Marco Rubio believes Social Security “weakened us as a people,” so it shouldn’t come as a surprise he wants to institute means-testing on Social Security and raise the retirement age. Rubio’s also looking to partially voucherize Medicare by shifting the program to a premium-support system, which would push retirees to private plans.
- If you liked Mitt Romney’s 47% moment, you probably loved Jeb Bush’s “free stuff” aloofness. Bush wants to raise the retirement age — and punish seniors who retire earlier than he wants them to. In addition to supporting Medicare means-testing — which would limit eligibility for the program — Bush also wants to shift the program toward private plans, and he’s even hinted at a “phase out.”
- “Get rid of them,” that’s Ben Carson’s “entitlements” end game. For now, Carson wants to raise the retirement age. He’d also go ahead and abolish Medicare entirely.
- “You’re gonna have to get over [reduced benefits],” if I’m elected, John Kasich told a concerned voter this fall. Why? Because Kasich would reduce Social Security benefits and cut Medicare.
Published: Jan 14, 2016