Mike Luckovich for March 14, 2024

Good one Mike.

Republicans publicly deny that they want to cut and gut Social Security and Medicare, but now Trump comes along and says the quiet part out loud — ruins their big surprise — and staff and other Republicans are trying to walk it back. But he said what he said. He said he wants to CUT and he did not include any qualifications. He said the part they’re not going to admit, but which they have been planning for years. Lying Republicans later tried to say he meant “cut waste,” but Medicare already has only a 2% expense (overhead) rate compared with 17% for private health care companies. There is no “waste” to cut. He said what he said.

When Joe Biden accurately stated during his 2023 State of the Union address that SOME Republicans wanted to either abolish or “sunset” (allow to expire) Social Security and Medicare, lying Republican hypocrites falsely accused him of lying. Some of them yelled and disrupted the speech.

Biden, who keeps on outsmarting them and had anticipated their dishonesty, was ready for them. The next day he was ready with the receipts.

Biden showed printed proposals from Florida Senator Rick Scott (who was chair of the 2022 senate campaign committee) to “sunset” ALL government programs every five years, and videos of similar proposals from Utah Senator Mike Lee (to specifically abolish Social Security and Medicare) and videos of Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and later proposing to “sunset” ALL government programs EVERY single year, not every five like Rick Scott.

Sure, not all of them support actually abolishing Social Security and Medicare. Some “merely” want to raise the eligibility ages, reduce the benefits, slow sown the cost-of-living adjustment, privatize it, or undermine it in other ways.

And now Trump comes along and proves that what Joe Biden said last year (and what Republicans have been saying for years behind closed doors, and sometimes on tape and in print) was 100% correct.

wait until all his minions (who are currently receiving these benefits) wake up and find out he is giving THEM the green weenie as well! after all we did for you- our hero- how’s that goin’ fer ya goober???

wndflower1, hope to Hel they wake up before November!

This isn’t news. It’s a nightmare.

Useless eaters will be eliminated.

I dunno. Older folks comprise a LARGE voting block. And getting larger by the day, as we live longer. How stupid do you have to be as a candidate to announce you’re going to take THEIR money away from them? Money THEY were required by law to pay into the system with the promise that it’d be there for them upon retirement . . .

Oh, I forgot who we’re talking about. The “stable genius” (snort).

Who they think they are

The spanish inquisition?

The Republican retirement plan for workers. You work, then you die.

…but not to me & my cronies.

Welfare for the wealthy will stay, thanks to Citizens United and the bought polticians.

Just do nothing. Then in 10 years those programs will cut themselves. That’s how Ponzi schemes work. They just collapse.

Medicare can be funded if the rich paid their fair share of taxes. Not more taxes, just the same as everyone else.

The people that are truly informed will never comply.

America is in for a very rude awakening eventually. I remember when then candidate Obama correctly said $9 trillion in debt was unpatriotic and irresponsible. Now the DC Swamp has racked up $34.5 trillion in debt.

Even mentioning cutting Social Security or Medicare is traditionally a kiss of death for a politician. Best to kick the can down the road. Sooner or later these programs will self implode.

Both major parties have a plan to deal with debt and deficit.

Democratic Plan: Tax increases and slashed benefits for people who live in luxury.

Republican Plan: Tax increases and slashed benefits for people who live in poverty.

Biden/Harris, 2024. If you have any sense of decency.

“Mr lie cheat n steal”Better frame this toon “the only time he ever told the truth “

Remember when openly saying you would cut social security and/or Medicare was pretty much the end of your campaign? Now the magats, a large number of which depend on social security and Medicare, cheer when trump announces that’s what he’s going to do. If he announced he was going to execute everyone over the age of 65 (except himself of course) would they cheer that too, and vote for him?

The Republicans are the party of “I’ve got mine, to $&$^ with you.”

In Republican circles, they are the only ones “entitled” to anything.

Privatizing Social Security and Medicare, regardless of what they call it, will create some more billionaires! But they won’t be the elderly citizens who rely on those programs to survive!

Reducing waste and massive fraud are not cuts to benefits. Democrats also call the reduction in welfare and other spending increases as cuts as well.

Right on, Mike. A great gift to the Biden campaign! Along with Dobbs, the Alabama IVF ruling, Trump’s indictments, etc., etc. Still there will be starry-eyed cultist 40% voting for Trump.

It’s curious how men and women, living in luxury, want to take the the basics away from everyone else.

As my Dad would often say “Republikans never gave a sh1t about anyone, but themselves.” He was right.

Those social programs are like a sponge, sucking up all kinds of money that could be better spent reducing the national debt. The affluent are expecting another round of tax cuts which will be harder to justify if we don’t reduce the national debt a bit first.

Mike Lee is part of the original socialist program, the LDS church and the state of Utah. 10% and you’re in.

Republicans have been trying to end Social Security since 1935.

Republicans have tried to cut or end SS and Medicare since FDR.

SCRAP THE CAP!!! It’s very easy to make Social Security work. At the present time, Social Security taxes are only deducted on the first $160K something of income. If people making more than that paid the same percentage on all of their income as those below it, it would save the program for eternity. The only argument against this is that the benefits are raised when more is paid. They can be capped instead of the amount paid in. At the time SS began, the income inequality gap wasn’t such an issue. Now, with 1% of the people having as much wealth as the bottom 90%, the program won’t work if it remains dependent on the middle class shouldering most of the burden.

That orange creature has been entitled his whole life. Everything he touches turns to shht. If not for his father’s $$, he’d have starved ages ago. Why anyone continues to work for him is beyond belief. He won’t pay them.

Hello Joan it’s called Blind Ignorance of people that love a great Con Artist.

but Medicare is not their money to cut is our money to keep we put it there the government didn’t put it there

Remember, the lying king can lie, deny, re-lie and re-re-deny before he even finishes the same blathering sentence.

Has anyone read ‘Agenda 47’? Bunches of it are downright scary!! Samples: Streets would be renamed in honor of “great American patriots” while the homeless, on threat of arrest, would be sent to tent cities on “large parcels of inexpensive land.” Trump says he would require police to enforce “stop-and-frisk,” the practice of detaining and searching civilians for weapons and drugs. (and declared unconstitutional). Read more at www >

They are not entitlements. We paid for every cent.

Once the repubs seize power, they will be able to, and will do whatever the Billionaire/Investor class tells them. The Magahats seem to hope for this, but will regret it as soon as the repubs come for them!

How can anyone believe that there is any part of the government that Heritage and Trump will not gut?

Except DoD or course . . .

Then if he cuts or eliminates my SSA each month I’ll be expecting a refund of what I paid in during my working life…with the pittance I get every month it couldn’t possibly be used up yet….or am I dreaming❓

Shouldn’t we welcome the idiots campaigning on cutting SSN? Isn’t this how we cut into the very valuable margins of this race?: