In case there was any doubt that the White House and many Congressional Republicans still want to cut Americans’ earned benefits, chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow just confirmed it. On Monday at the Economic Club of New York, Kudlow told CNBC’s Becky Quick that Social Security and Medicare are still very much on the table:
QUICK: Will the Trump administration tackle entitlement reform?
KUDLOW: Well, we’ve already tackled a big part of the newest entitlement, namely Obamacare. As far as the larger entitlements, I think everybody’s going to look at that probably next year. I don’t want to be specific, I don’t want to get ahead of our own budgeting, but we’ll get there.
This aligns with comments from National Republican Congressional Committee chair, Rep. Steve Stivers, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and several other key GOP members about the need to pay for last year’s tax cuts by ‘reforming’ Social Security and Medicare. ‘Reforming,’ of course, means cutting and privatizing.
“Polls consistently indicate that majorities of Americans oppose cutting earned benefits and privatization – and do not support the Trump/GOP tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. Kudlow’s remarks are particularly ironic in light of President Trump’s recent assertion that the administration and its allies in Congress will ‘protect’ Social Security and Medicare while Democrats want to ‘destroy’ them.” – Max Richtman, National Committee President, 9/18/18
The President’s claims fly in the face of reality, of course. Just last week Democrats energized their campaign to boost benefits by launching Expand Social Security caucuses in the House and Senate. Democrats have already introduced legislation to strengthen Social Security and reduce costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Republicans’ latest budget proposals call for billions in cuts to both to Social Security and Medicare. In an article published yesterday, MSNBC producer Steve Benen laid bare the hypocrisy of President Trump’s claims.
“As election-season pitches go, the idea that Republicans will support Medicare and Social Security more than Democrats is as cynical as it is ridiculous. But while the president and some of his cohorts vow to protect these pillars of modern American life, other Republicans are stepping on the party’s message and signaling their intentions to cut those programs.” – Steve Benen, MSNBC, 9/17/18
In his comments yesterday, the president’s top economic advisor has just reinforced the political right’s true priorities: cutting benefits for seniors and disabled Americans living on fixed incomes to pay for tax cuts for the rich.