Brunswick Beacon, 01.19.23
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) ran Republicans’ Senate Campaign promising that “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years.” Democrats called it a disaster for seniors and retirees. So did Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who said it “raises taxes on half of the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years.” Democrats added a seat to their senate majority.
It’s said: “Insanity is repeating the same mistake expecting different results.” House Republicans must not have heard that, because here they go again. They’re threatening to default on America’s debt unless Social Security and Medicare are cut. McCarthy became Speaker after 15 ballots by agreeing to significant changes to Social Security and Medicare. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) called spending cuts “a major priority for House Republicans.”
Republicans have a history of threatening default under Democratic presidents. In 2011, they pulled the same stunt with Obama. The mere threat of default caused the first downgrade of America’s credit rating in history, cost taxpayers more than $1.3 billion, raised borrowing costs and dropped the Dow Jones by over 2,000 points.
Under Republican presidents, Republicans spend like drunken sailors. Trump’s tax cut on the wealthiest 1% ballooned the deficit. At $7.8 trillion, it was the third largest increase (relative to Gross Domestic Product) in history, after George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln.
Biden cut the deficit by $1.2 Trillion in 2022, thanks to rising tax revenues from economic expansion and the two strongest years of jobs growth in history. The first vote this Republican House took slashed IRS funding, increasing deficits by $114 Billion.
Brunswick County is NC’s #1 county for stretching retirement dollars. No wonder one-third of our population is over 65. We’re NC’s oldest county, one of the oldest in America, and getting older. Cutting Social Security and Medicare would be a hardship for seniors nationwide. For Brunswick County, it would be a disaster.
Kristine Garrity
Calabash