You’d think that Goldman Sachs — the mega-bank that took $10 billion of taxpayer money — would show a little bit of humility in the wake of the financial crisis. You’d be wrong.
In an interview with CBS News, Lloyd Blankfein, the Goldman CEO who famously said he was doing “God’s work,” said that Social Security benefits must be cut by raising the retirement age and Medicare and Medicaid must be “contained” as well:
PELLEY: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid?
BLANKFEIN: You can look at history of these things, and Social Security wasn’t devised to be a system that supported you for a 30-year retirement after a 25-year career. … So there will be things that, you know, the retirement age has to be changed, maybe some of the benefits have to be affected, maybe some of the inflation adjustments have to be revised. But in general, entitlements have to be slowed down and contained.
PELLEY: Because we can’t afford them going forward?
BLANKFEIN: Because we can’t afford them.
Let’s get something clear. Blankfein made these comments in the context of what should happen in budget negotiations related to the debt. Social Security does not add one penny to the deficit. And it’s fully solvent until 2033 — it would be fully solvent well into the 22nd century if we simply lifted the payroll tax cap.
Watch it:
Warren has an alternative, truly balanced approach to tackling the deficit. During a campaign debate last month, she laid out a popular, credible vision for dealing with the deficit: cut back on wasteful military and agriculture subsidy spending, and make the rich pay their fair share. Watch Warren explain:
I would have to live until the` age 92 to collect for 30 years. And according to Social Security I have contributed for 40 years, not counting the 5 years I contributed as a part timer in my college years.
Yeah. We may have to consider this. But this clown is the wrong person to be suggesting it to the American taxpayer.
If you voted Democratic THIS IS YOUR FAULT!
It means you voted for one of the two corporate-funded parties that want to cut our earned benefits. Blankfein is an Obama-Administration official. YOU BUILT THIS!
Contrast the Green Party’s Green New Deal: http://www.jillstein.org/summary_green_new_deal
Your Green vote would have sent a message to Democrats (especially those facing close races) telling them the values you WILL vote for.
Voting Green would help to build an opposition party that represents CITIZENS’ interests — not corporate interests. You need to make a beter choice next election, people!
That’s all well and good, but this election was about sending a message to the Republican party. I don’t like 2-party political environments as much as you, I’m sure, but this election cycle COULD NOT go to republicans. They’ve been waging war on the lower class for far too long, and it is time for them to get the fuck out.
I want so badly for us to have a 3rd party candidate in office. I want so badly to be represented, and not some 1% asshole. I want everyone to have fair, and equal rights. Sadly, most modern republicans don’t.
Modern republicans are trying to fit 2012 into the model of 1950. It doesn’t make any sense. The problems that got us here, aren’t going to solve our current problems. We learned that already.
This election was about telling modern republicans that we aren’t having it. We are done with their bullshit, and we’re looking for progress and change. We’re ready to grow as a society and face tough issues.
“…but this election cycle COULD NOT go to republicans”
The problem is that Democratic voters have been repeating that line EVERY GODDAMN ELECTION for the last 32 years!
Your logic leads to the PERMANENT stranglehold of corporations over our country:
We now have a police state. We have “free-trade” agreements that have left tens of millions in poverty. We’re being sucked dry by the financial corporations. We’re on the verge of several MORE corporate-sponsored wars. We’re force-fed genetically-modifed frankenfoods, unlabelled so we can’t avoid them. Unions are stifled by Federal laws. The 1% can still make unlimited campaign contributions. Corporate news media censor labor issues. The list goes on.
And three decades of progressives voting Democratic have brought this on us. Your Democratic vote tells the Democrats to CONTINUE their work on behalf of the 1%! (I know that’s not what you intended, but THAT’S the message, nonetheless.)
It must stop. And being duped into playing the corporate parties’ rigged game isn’t going to do it.
you’re an idiot.
Actually, it is YOU who seems to be the idiot.
The person you just insulted made a cogent argument. Rather than rationally deal with and rebut the points he made, your only response was to insult him.
Thus,, it appears that when you called this person an idiot, you were looking in the mirror.
That’s cute Alan. The Green Party is your answer? Adorable.
Um… yeah, you’re a dumb fucking shithead, and you can fuck the fuck off. How progressive is that for you?
CBS ought to be ashamed for doing an interview with that worthless piece of shit. The only excuse for it would have been if they had used the opportunity to crucify him for what he and his company did to our economy. That they interviewed him as an expert whose opinion should be considered is beyond reproach.
CBS ought to be ashamed for doing an interview with that worthless piece of shit. The only excuse for it would have been if they had used the opportunity to crucify him for what he and his company did to our economy. That they interviewed him as an expert whose opinion should be considered is beyond reprehensible.
Its not just America where people like Blankfein are trying to influence government policy. Its right across the Western democracies. In the UK we have one of the most right wing governments in 50 years and they are dismantling the welfare state. All the benefits accrued by working class people since WW2 are slowly being stripped away and that includes many rights.
See FairshareTaxes.org. Pushback is for a Wealth Tax. These schmucks have a preferential tax rate of 15% and when you consider the tax to wealth ratio they are paying less than .01% of their savings/net worth/wealth in taxes while the working class the middle 60% are paying 5-10% of their savings in taxes EVERY YEAR…. This man reminds me of Louis 16 who partied on at Versaille with his nobels NEVER PAYING a dime in TAXES while people who had to pay taxes were STARVING because of the speculators. This is why the French people were so DESPARATE to fight off the invaders and why Napoleon is such an ICON.
It is infuriating to hear wealthy executives talk about raising the retirement age as if it somehow represents a sacrifice on their part. Do we really want miners, construction workers, truck drivers and other people in physically demanding jobs working until they’re seventy? The fact that people are living longer is a measure of just how well Social Security has worked.
who in the hell only works for 25 years ????