Not letting any grass grow under his feet, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex) has introduced the “Social Security Reform Act of 2016” to significantly cut back Social Security payments. And of course Republicans are also salivating at the opportunity to turn Medicare into a private insurance voucher system and to get rid of Medicaid and the ACA altogether. When they’ve tried cutting Social Security and Medicare in the past, they’ve run into a buzzsaw of resistance from constituents. It’s time to get that buzzsaw running at high speed again.
Thanks to the organization Strengthen Social Security, here is a list of organizations, both national and state, that have formed a coalition to protect Social Security and Medicare. Here are some other organizations that are also on the front lines of the fight to protect the social safety net:
Social Security Works
National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare
Alliance for Retired Americans
Get involved with these organizations and take action with them. Get your family, friends, and neighbors involved, too. Also stay in regular touch with your legislators about these issues. Never let up on them. They need to know how strong the opposition is out here. And if your legislators are Republicans, you might want to ask them why they want to “balance the budget” and increase welfare for the wealthy on the backs of the old, the poor, the disabled, and dependent children.
We have to do this ourselves. No one else will do it for us.
Update: There are so many talented and knowledgeable people here and, although I don’t know a lot about how groups work, would it be worthwhile to set up a Protect the Social Safety Net group to collect the latest news and actions so we can respond quickly?