News Release

Cutting Social Security Is Not Strengthening It

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President Obama recently stated: “We have a Democratic president and administration that is prepared to sign a tough package that includes both spending cuts, modifications to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that would strengthen those systems and allow them to move forward, and would include a revenue component.”

NANCY ALTMAN, njalt at aol.com
Altman is co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, a coalition of over 300 national and state organizations representing more than 50 million Americans. She said today: “Social Security is in the crosshairs of the debt negotiations currently going on in Washington. This, even though Social Security doesn’t add a penny to the deficit — it shouldn’t be in the discussions. Rather than adding to the deficit, Social Security is a creditor of the United States, just like China is. Of the $14.3 trillion the federal government currently owes its creditors, $2.7 trillion of that is owed to the Social Security Trust Funds. Obama claims he wants to strengthen Social Security, but he is apparently ready to cut its benefits. We don’t think cutting a program is strengthening it.”

Altman recently co-wrote the piece “Disentangling Social Security From the Debt Ceiling.”

In May, Altman testified before the Senate Finance Committee.