August 14, 2020/Media
ICYMI: Democrats Hammer Trump Over His Attack on Social Security
This morning, Democrats marked the 85th anniversary of the Social Security Act and addressed Donald Trump’s recent executive order endangering the program that millions of North Carolinians depend on.
NCDP Chairman Wayne Goodwin was joined by former State Representative and Congressional candidate Deborah Ross and Jocelyn Bryant, Vice President of the NC Alliance of Retired Americans. The trio blasted Trump for his recent comments pledging to eliminate the payroll tax that funds Social Security if he wins a second term.
Highlights
Wayne Goodwin:
- Since its inception this program has guaranteed a secure retirement for our seniors — giving them the peace of mind of knowing that when they leave the workforce, they won’t risk financial ruin.
- In our country, Social Security hasn’t just been an abstract federal program — this is a promise, a commitment we make to working people, and the Democratic Party has been committed to making sure we always keep that promise.
- Last weekend, the president signed an executive order that calls for a payroll tax holiday, cutting the source of funding for the Social Security trust fund and endangering the program’s stability.
- In the last week, in the days leading up to Social Security’s anniversary, Trump has even pledged again and again to eliminate the payroll tax if he wins a second term, which would throw the trust fund and millions of seniors into financial jeopardy.
- North Carolinians are hurting right now. Unemployment is high, we’ve lost thousands of small businesses over the last few months and more than 2,100 people here have died because of the coronavirus. The idea that Trump would threaten the gut Social Security amidst this crisis defies both logic and morals.
Jocelyn Bryant
- As you said, Social Security is not just any federal program — this is a promise we make to working Americans in our country — that if you work hard and do your part paying into the trust fund, you can count on a secure retirement when you leave the workforce.
- It’s no exaggeration to say that playing games with this program the way Donald Trump is amounts to playing games with the peoples’ livelihoods, including millions of people right here in North Carolina.
- Nationally, more than 64 million Americans collect Social Security and depend on the security it provides — it is the bedrock of the middle class.
- I speak and work every day with retired North Carolinians who count on Social Security to help them make ends meet.
- The reality is, we shouldn’t be surprised by what the President has proposed in the last few days; every year of his presidency, Donald Trump has proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Deborah Ross:
- [Social Security] has provided a bedrock of economic security for our seniors — people who have worked hard their entire lives.
- What Donald Trump has done is play a shell game with Social Security and Medicare to the detriment of our seniors, and there is bipartisan opposition to that on Capitol Hill as well.
- This is the wrong way to address Social Security. It puts peoples’ economic security at risk precisely during an economic downturn.
- Our millennials have now been in the workplace during two economic downturns that have made it harder for them to get a financial footing and have made it harder for them to save for retirement in the ways that we would like them to.
- Threatening Social Security hurts this generation but it also hurts the next generation, and it is just plain wrong.
- The president lied to the American people during his campaign, and he is playing games with Social Security during this campaign.
Watch the full call HERE.