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As Social Security Turns 87, Ron Johnson & GOP Working to Gut Seniors’ Safety Net

Aug 14, 2022

As Social Security Turns 87, Ron Johnson & GOP Working to Gut Seniors’ Safety Net

MADISON, Wis. – This weekend marks the 87th anniversary of Social Security. Despite the program providing economic security for over a million Wisconsinites, Republican politicians continue to push plans that would put these benefits on the chopping block.

“This November, Social Security is on the ballot. With Ron Johnson leading the charge to threaten funding for these vital programs, Republican politicians have made themselves perfectly clear: a GOP-controlled Congress would mean that Wisconsin seniors’ hard-earned retirement and disability benefits are at risk,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler. “For a Wisconsin senator like Ron Johnson to threaten Social Security is a slap in the face to the seniors who have paid into this program for their entire lives and should not have to fear poverty in their final years.”

Across the board, Republican politicians are outlining their plans to attack Social Security and Medicare. In Wisconsin, Ron Johnson has spent years attacking these retirement programs – he has made continuous threats to cut Social Security and Medicare, the former of which he’s called a “legal Ponzi Scheme,” suggested raising the retirement age, and has supported legislation that would cut funding for the benefits that Wisconsinites rely on.

Earlier this year, Rick Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, put forward a plan – which received praise from RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel and other prominent Republicans – that could end the Social Security and Medicare guarantee. And a group representing the majority of House Republicans, including Wisconsin Rep. Tiffany, Fitzgerald, Grothman, and Steil, released a plan which includes cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

If Republican politicians get their way, millions of Wisconsinites will suffer and lose benefits that pay for medication, doctor’s appointments, groceries, and more.

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