As Congress moves to enter discussions over the debt and deficit during the lame duck session, many on the right — and their corporate allies — are calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits while further cutting corporate taxes.
This is not a balanced approach to the issue. Our immediate deficit is caused primarily by the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, two wars, and Wall Street’s economic meltdown — not American seniors and other middle class Americans who rely on these social insurance programs.
Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren explained what a real balanced approach to the deficit would be during a debate with Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) last month:
WARREN: I believe we need to make cuts, we need to make cuts to agriculture subsidies. We need to make cuts in our defense budget, targeted cuts. We need to end the war in Afghanistan, that’s $2 billion a week. We need to cut fraud and abuse out of the system. But we also need to ask others to pay their fair share. I believe that billionaires should pay taxes at least at the same rate that their secretaries do.
Watch it:
Show your support for Warren’s progressive alternative to the “Grand Bargain” that cuts Social Security and Medicare by clicking here to add your name as a “citizen supporter” of her vision.
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