The GOP Is Still Trying to Repeal Obamacare
For decades, politicians in both parties have operated on the belief that Social Security is the third rail of American politics, dangerous if not fatal to touch. Since the 1990s, Medicare has seemed equally inviolate. The budget bill Republicans are hoping to bring to the Senate floor this week will test whether Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act now also belong on that list.
Republicans have long sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010, and retrench Medicaid, a joint federal-state partnership created by the Great Society Congress in 1965 to provide health insurance to the poor.
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Washington Post
11 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Not just Mamdani: Centrist Democrats can win on affordability, too
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) still remembers her best tip ever, when she was a college student waiting tables outside Minneapolis for the local NHL team's holiday party. 'Nobody can party like hockey players,' Rosen said, recalling how they showed off their sport's hard-hitting nature by pulling out their fake teeth. 'They drank and spent so much money.' More than 45 years later, Rosen — who moved to Nevada after graduating from the University of Minnesota — has emerged as the biggest Democratic booster of a signature economic proposal from President Donald Trump. She co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to fulfill Trump's 2024 campaign promise for 'no taxes on tips,' the type of issue she experienced firsthand when the Minnesota North Stars left her a nearly $300 tip. A version of that legislation is tucked into the massive tax and immigration bill that Republicans are trying to pass on a party-line vote in the coming days. While every Democrat in Congress, including Rosen, opposes that broad legislation — largely because of its cuts to Medicaid — the Cruz bill won a unanimous vote last month in the Senate. If the massive legislation fails, Rosen will push her allies in the House to move a stand-alone tip bill to the president's desk. Her effort, fresh off a successful reelection bid in 2024, serves as a model for Democrats searching for a moderate approach to winning in swing districts and battleground states. Democrats are deep into internal battles drawn over generational and ideological fault lines and are debating how to use modern communications to get out their message. Many on the left see a model for winning in Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist poised to win the Democratic New York mayoral primary after running an online savvy campaign touting progressive ideas to fight inflation. Some centrist Democrats have pushed back against Mamdani for his far-left proposals, including free bus service and government-owned grocery stores. But similarities in the 33-year-old's mayoral bid and the 67-year-old senator's approach show the path to winning coalitions. Nevada was the only state that had twice voted against Trump but flipped to him last year — from a roughly 2.5 percentage point defeat in 2016 and 2020 to a more than 3 percentage point victory in 2024. But Rosen beat Trump-endorsed Republican Sam Brown by nearly 1.7 percentage points by embracing an aggressive approach to fighting inflation while positioning herself as an authentic voice, someone who didn't run her first political campaign until her late 50s. Rosen has held victory parties at Caesars Palace to remind folks that she was a cocktail waitress there. She gives off the political vibe of an encouraging aunt rather than career politician. 'It was really important to me to be present to people, for people, to listen to their stories,' she said in a recent interview. 'My motto is agree where you can, fight where you must.' In five presidential battleground states that hosted key Senate races, Democrats won four. Rosen was running her second statewide race ever, while Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) were running their first and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) was running her third. Incumbent Bob Casey, who lost in Pennsylvania, was running his eighth statewide bid in three decades. Two figures from opposite ends of the Democratic ideology spectrum recently noted Mamdani, a state lawmaker since 2021, offered a fresh alternative to former governor Andrew M. Cuomo, 67, with personal scandal baggage. 'The people are clearly asking for generational change,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), a liberal icon, told reporters. 'They are looking for a new generation of leadership,' Slotkin said during a policy address touting her centrist vision. Republicans take a different view of Rosen's and Slotkin's victories, blaming their big-money donors for not believing in the GOP nominees until it was too late. 'Many didn't believe we had a chance to win. And the money was late breaking there. But I think had we had the resources earlier, Sam Brown would have won,' Sen. Steve Daines (Montana), who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee last year, said in a brief interview. Rosen raised about $50 million for her campaign, more than twice as much as Brown's, and outside political groups favored Rosen by an edge of about $55 million to $45 million, according to Open Secrets. Rosen received 4,000 fewer votes than Kamala Harris did at the top of the Democratic ticket, while Brown fell about 75,000 votes shy of Trump's tally. Rosen did have better appeal than Harris in what Nevadans call 'the rurals,' lightly populated conservative areas far from the Las Vegas Strip. Humboldt County, in the northernmost stretch of the state, favored Trump by more than 4,400 votes while Brown won by 3,662 votes. Rosen believes that national Democrats face higher hurdles in rural areas where they never campaign and end up branded with 'all that noise' from conservative media outlets. She overcame some of that as an incumbent senator with time to visit those parts of the state. 'You can't be everywhere. But in Nevada and some other states, people can really get to know you. So it is absolutely an advantage,' Rosen said. Rosen instantly knew the moment Trump started talking about 'no taxes on tips' that it would resonate in a state where roughly 1 in 4 workers are in the hospitality industry. They probably either receive tips or have close friends and family working for tips. That industry got crushed during the pandemic, and now inflation has prompted another decline in tourist visits to Las Vegas. 'It's such a variable job. You don't know what your tips are going to be day in and day out. One day good, one day not so good,' Rosen said. While Harris also supported eliminating taxes on tips, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada) was the only other Democrat to join Rosen in co-sponsoring Cruz's bill. Culinary Workers Union Local 226, Nevada's largest union, also endorsed the proposal. Some Democrats on Capitol Hill have been hesitant to embrace the no-tax-on-tips policy, worried it is unfair to workers who receive a regular hourly wage. Critics of the proposal say the biggest beneficiaries of such a policy are staff at high-end restaurants who are already making high salaries, not the lowest-paid workers in the service industry. It could create a rush on employers shifting their workers into a tipped-wage system, leading to customers facing tip requests in places that rarely used to have them. But Rosen knew that Nevada, with the lowest percentage of college graduates of any battleground state, would embrace a proposal that appealed to its working-class image. 'We're always trying to find ways to put more money back into people's pockets,' the onetime culinary union member said. Without a deeply partisan background, she doesn't hesitate to break from her party's orthodoxy on issues including crime and border security. Rosen used her financial edge to start airing ads at least six months ahead of the election that ref far-left ideas such as defunding the police and open borders. 'I work with both parties on things like helping veterans exposed to burn pits and stood up to my own party to support police officers and get more funding for border security,' she said in one ad. Many of these positions run counter to the ideas embraced by Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). But some Democrats point to issues Mamdani highlighted as appealing to most voters, allowing swing-district candidates to graft their own policy prescriptions into what fits their voters. 'It's not the left versus the middle — to win, it must be both. Mamdani's focus helps preview many of the issues liberals and moderates can embrace: affordability, quality of life and opposing slashing health care,' Steve Israel, the former New York Democratic congressman who ran the party's House campaign operation for four years, wrote in his Substack after the mayoral primary. For Rosen, that lesson goes all the way back to the time a bunch of professional hockey players got rowdy and left her a massive pile of cash. Rosen, who can't remember if she reported that tip on her taxes, moved away a few years later, and the North Stars became the Dallas Stars. But she always remember that lesson, one that resonates with a huge amount of voters in Nevada. 'Your tips were everything,' she said.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Future of Social Security Just Went From Bad to Worse. Here's What Seniors Can Expect Next.
The Social Security trustees expect to deplete the trust fund in just a few years without changes. Cuts to the program will be even steeper than expected a year ago. There are several factors driving the increased deficit. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Social Security is the backbone of many Americans' retirement plans. More than one-third of adults said the government program would be a major source of income in retirement in the most recent edition of an annual Gallup poll. That number has climbed higher over the last 20 years since Gallup started the survey. Meanwhile, six in 10 current retirees say their monthly check is a big piece of their budget. But with more and more Americans relying on Social Security, the future of the program has never looked more uncertain. Not only are seniors staring down the barrel of benefit cuts in just a few years, but the problem is only getting worse. Here's what seniors can expect and how they can plan for the future of Social Security. Retirees could see a significant benefit cut in just eight years if Congress doesn't act to change Social Security and improve its longevity. That's when the Social Security Board of Trustees estimates the program will deplete the Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund. The Social Security trust fund was established to hold excess tax revenue from wages to pay out to retirees when they start collecting benefits later. In the meantime, the Social Security Administration invests those funds in government bonds to earn a steady return on the principal. Over time, the balance grew as the working population grew faster than the retirement population. But as Baby Boomers started retiring, life expectancies increased, and younger generations had fewer children, the demographic shifts started putting pressure on the trust fund balance. As a result, Social Security has been running a deficit in most years since 2018. And that deficit is getting worse each year as the retired population grows faster than the working population. Every year, the trustees analyze the current state of Social Security and forecast the future of the program. Changes in the workforce, life expectancies, or Social Security policies can impact those estimates. Unfortunately for seniors, the projections got even worse this year. While the 2024 Trustees Report expected retirees to face a 21% overall reduction in benefits starting in 2033, that number climbed to 23% in the latest edition. Here's why seniors could be facing bigger benefits cuts and what they can do about it. It's not just the growing retiree population that's negatively impacting the health of Social Security. After all, almost everyone collecting Social Security today paid into the system for years before retiring. One notable shift negatively impacting Social Security is the growing income inequality in America. Only 82% of earnings were subject to Social Security tax in 2022. That compares to the 90% benchmark Congress targeted in its 1983 Social Security reforms. But even if we returned to that benchmark, it would only make up a portion of the shortfall over the coming years. Another challenge is a slow-growing working population. That's exacerbated by a decline in immigration and further hurt by current immigration policies imposed by the Trump administration. That said, allowing more immigrants to work in the United States (and pay Social Security taxes) would provide only a small amount of additional revenue to Social Security. The biggest change over the past year that's led the trustees to increase their forecast of the Social Security shortfall is the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act. The law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, boosting Social Security benefits for 3.2 million retirees and many more in the future. It was also retroactive to 2024, further depleting the trust fund. So, while those retirees will see a step up in their benefits, many more could see deeper cuts in the future. That's not lost on most seniors, and it's led a surprising number of 62-year-olds to claim their benefits as soon as possible this year instead of waiting to maximize their benefits at age 70. But that might not be the smartest move. Here's why. While the program faces a major threat if Congress fails to act within the next eight years, it's still in most seniors' best interest to wait to claim Social Security on their own terms. There are two key reasons. First, it's highly unlikely Congress will allow Social Security benefits cuts. It may enact laws raising the full retirement age in the future, increasing the Social Security tax, increasing the amount of taxable wages, or some combination of all that and more. It could allow benefits to come out of the general fund instead of the trust fund (hopefully with a plan to return Social Security to solvency and reduce the overall government debt). But the clock is ticking for Congress to take action. Second, even if there are benefit cuts in the future, taking Social Security early (when you'd otherwise wait) could result in a much worse scenario for you in the future. The breakeven point for lifetime Social Security income will get pushed out further if you wait and Social Security is forced to cut benefits. But at its core, Social Security is longevity insurance. You'll be much better off in your late 80s if you waited to take Social Security and receive a bigger check than if you claimed as soon as possible. So, while the outlook for Social Security is getting worse, seniors shouldn't be in a rush to get their money while they can. If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Future of Social Security Just Went From Bad to Worse. Here's What Seniors Can Expect Next. was originally published by The Motley Fool
Bloomberg
21 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Weekend Law: Final SCOTUS Decisions & Dogs Are Family
Constitutional law expert David Super, a professor at Georgetown Law, discusses the Supreme Court limiting judge's use of nationwide injunctions. First Amendment law expert Caroline Mala Corbin, discusses the Supreme Court bolstering the rights of religious parents. Christopher Berry, the Executive Director of the Nonhuman Rights Project, discusses a New York judge ruling that dogs are part of the family. June Grasso hosts.
