President Obama: Don’t cut Social Security!

Over the past 24-hours news reports and statements from congressional staff have circulated that for the first time the White House has put changes to Social Security on the table as part of the budget reduction negotiations. It is wrong for President Obama to use this opportunity to double the reduction to the deficit by $4 trillion on the backs of low-income and middle class Social Security recipients. The average Social Security benefit is between $12,000 and $14,000 per year. Any cuts to this benefit will significantly burden recipients.

LGBT seniors and disabled people rely heavily on Social Security benefits because many of them are single and lack other economic resources to help them in their retirement years. The Social Security program was created as a safety net to help the most needy in society. Showing a willingness to cut benefits is an attack on our most vulnerable citizens and a broken promise from the president.

Statement from Task Force Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Laurie Young:

This pivot by the president – who has previously suggested that Social Security doesn’t add to the federal deficit – is stunning. Social Security is a promise we must not break, for we will break it on the backs of the sick, the poor and the old. We hold the president to a higher standard.