A central pillar of Donald Trump’s seduction of older voters into his fear-based campaign was the bold proclamation made in really after rally: “I will not touch your Social Security.” Contrasting himself with decades of Republicans, including all his primary opponents, he promised to be a different kind of Republican, a friend of aging and retired Americans.
How much did this promise matter to his so-called base? He promised to protect those who longed for a version of yesterday from a range of dramatized threats: criminal immigrants, urban rioters, European foes and mad scientists. The loss of always under threat Social Security payments that meant survival to many had to be a factor for many in putting their trust in him.
That bold promise has turned out to be as hollow as his repeated rally exchange about his hallowed wall. Trump: “Who will pay for the wall?” Crowd: “MEXICO!” Once in office, the aggressive posture died and he turned to US taxpayers to redeem his promise.
Like a determined panhandler, he searched high and low for spare change to build a few miles of wall. In the end he took funds from the military budget which he had always portrayed as sacred funds.
So it should come as no surprise that when he finally announced his plan that, if re-elected, he would terminate the payroll tax that supports Social Security and Medicare, he had no credible substitute for funding this vital program. He suggested that the billions of dollars provided by a tax working people pay could be replaced by money Congress approved from the general fund.
Throwing Social Security into the pool with every other government program – from Defense to all services – is as fanciful as expecting Mexico to chip in. When it comes to the annual budget wars, it would be death by a thousand cuts.
The only sensible approach to this broken promise is to assure early retirement for the deceitful politician who made it. At Respectful Exits, we are advocates for retirement with dignity for all Americans – including the President. He can leave with his hundreds of thousands in lifetime pension and we’ll settle for a stronger Social Security for the rest of us. How do we achieve this goal?
In May we launched Facebook.com/RespectfulExits to directly appeal to and organize the large older voter population of crucial battleground state Florida against Trump’s war on older Americans. And so far our campaign is working. The math is simple.
- Donald Trump cannot put together any path to Electoral College victory without winning Florida
- In the last 6 Presidential contests, one percent of the vote separated Presidential winner from loser
- 22% of Florida voters are over 55, the oldest and most reliable voting bloc in the country.
- Trump’s allowing COVID to kill millions of older Americans has decimated his support; attacking Social Security can’t help
Our Respectful Exits page and initiative on Facebook are targeted, cost-effective and potentially lethal tools to deny the deceitful Trump a second term. Tens of millions of current and future retirees risk the loss of already inadequate monthly Social Security checks for years to come. Their futures and their fortunes are at risk and if aging workers and retirees rise up in their self-interest, he will deserve and get early retirement.
Facebook works, but it isn’t cheap. We need you to do a simple calculation. As a retiree, you may receive $300,000+ in Social Security payments over a lifetime. With that fact in mind, please go to our website and make a serious investment in your and our collective future. Help fund our Facebook outreach.
Together we can enforce the promise of the Social Security we have all paid for and will rely on for decades to come. Please dig deep!
