President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, and made a sacred promise to American workers that “they have the right to retire with dignity.” Since a payroll tax was used to fund it, Roosevelt remarked that “no damn politician can ever scrap my Social Security program.” But the Republican Party fought tooth and nail against the Social Security Act and called Roosevelt a socialist.
Republicans are still trying to rip away Americans’ hard-earned Social Security benefits. In 1983, Ronald Reagan signed legislation that cut Social Security benefits and gradually increased the full retirement age. Reagan called Social Security “welfare” and explained that his opposition to Social Security is why he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
Shortly into his second term, Donald Trump spread false rumors that tens of millions of dead people have received fraudulent Social Security payments. And Trump called Social Security a “scam.”
However, the Social Security inspector general acknowledged paying less than 1 percent of benefits improperly. That error rate is lower than any private insurance company.
I would not put Social Security and welfare or scam in the same sentence. How about you?
