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Trump Seeking to Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if Reelected

In a reversal from his 2016 campaign promises, Donald Trump said on CNBC Wednesday that he would look to cut “entitlements” if re-elected. He revealed that cuts to earned Medicare and Social Security benefits will be on the table as soon as the end of this year, after a day of hobnobbing with billionaires in Davos.

“The cruel irony of this scene cannot be overstated,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “While Davos billionaires may not understand the importance of Social Security and Medicare, millions of Americans who rely on the health and retirement benefits they have earned through a lifetime of hard work do.”

“Retirees need help, not a slap in the face,” Fiesta added. “We should be working to expand Social Security and increasing benefits for current and future retirees. This can be accomplished by making the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share by lifting the arbitrary payroll tax cap.”

Social Security and Medicare are vital for a secure retirement. With Americans paying the highest prescription drug prices in the world, cuts to these programs would make it much harder for retirees to pay for basic necessities. Social Security is the only source of income for 4 in 10 older Americans. For even more retirees, Social Security provides 90% of their income. These modest earned retirement benefits average just $1,461 per month for a retired worker.

The Washington Post Rips Hogan’s Reversal on Mail-In Voting (7/13/20)

July 12, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

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THE CENTERS for Disease Control and Prevention advised voters last month that they should seek alternatives to casting ballots in person this November, becoming just one more in a parade of health and voting experts warning about the risks of treating the coming presidential election like a normal one. The warnings are as much for state leaders, who bear responsibility both to preserve public health and to enable voting, as they are for voters themselves. And after a mixed bag of covid-era primary elections over the past few months, there are many lessons from hard-won experiences in places such as Wisconsin, Georgia and the District.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) seems not to have learned them. He presided over a largely mail-in primary election in his state last month that saw strong turnout based on extremely high levels of absentee voting — but that also encountered some problems. Absentee ballots failed to reach everyone who wanted one, and polling place closures caused lines for those who sought to vote in person. So Mr. Hogan decided on Wednesday to reverse course and treat the November vote like a more routine election. His reaction may cause more problems than it solves.

Mr. Hogan’s most controversial decision was to decline sending mail-in ballots to all voters, and instead sending out absentee ballot request forms. Maryland election officials warned the governor that adding the extra step of processing absentee ballot applications would create a massive new burden with which the state may not be able to cope. This is what happened in Wisconsin’s disastrous April primary, in which many voters did not receive their absentee ballots in time to cast them, despite requesting them on time. The District saw similar problems in its June special election, and the city’s leaders have since decided to ditch the application process and send out ballots directly.