Political Quotes

“In the 1980s, the Reagan administration, with a Democratic House, Republican Senate, increased by 15 percent payroll tax on working Americans toward Social Security and Medicare, because they realized, because of the demographic change, with fewer and fewer working people, more and more retired people taking money out, fewer people putting money in, that by 2014 the money that was being paid in on an annual basis to Social Security would no longer pay the money that is being taken out. So with Alan Greenspan as the Chair of a commission, they recommended, it passed through Congress, an increase on payroll taxes with the idea being that the money would be collected now while we have a relatively large workforce, set aside to pay those benefits then for Social Security, for Medicare, for military retirees, for civil service retirement. The problem is that money was spent, every penny of it. What we are trying to change and what we will have an opportunity to change tomorrow, I hope, if the Committee on Rules makes it in order, is to say that the provisions of this tax bill tomorrow only take place in years where we fully fund our annual obligation to Social Security, to Medicare, to military retirement and civil servants. If that does not happen, then the tax increase does not take place. I happen to think that is totally in keeping with the President's vow and promise that he made to Congress. He mentioned Social Security by name, he mentioned Medicare by name.”