Former Republican Rep. Bob McEwen Says Social Security Bankrupt; You Paid In, You’re Outta Luck

By Yashwanth Manjunath

During an interview yesterday with Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks filling in for Dylan Ratigan on MSNBC, former Republican Congressman Bob McEwen laid out the Republican plan for Social Security. When confronted with the unquestionable fact that Social Security has a 2.5 trillion-dollar surplus, McEwen responded by admitting that the money was in treasury bonds, but was spent a long time ago. McEwen also reveals that he and his fellow Republicans want to default on their debt to the American taxpayers after spending their retirement money on tax cuts for the rich and irrational wars. Of course, when asked by Uygur why it is ok to bilk on money owed to the American people and not on debt owed to foreign creditors like China, McEwen refuses to answer.

In order to “save Social Security,” McEwen argues for raising the retirement age to counterbalance people living much longer now than ever before, which amounts to an across- the-board benefits cut. When confronted directly on that specific point by Uygur, he tried to backpedal and blame Bill Clinton while lecturing Uygur about “fiscal responsibility.” When asked about the unpaid Iraq War as an example of fiscal irresponsibility, McEwen tried to attack Uygur for his “contempt for America.” When Uygur argued for cuts in wasteful Defense spending that goes into the pockets of the wealthy defense contractors as a better way to balance the budget, McEwen misrepresented his position as “showing contempt for those who defend our country,” conflating defense contractors with soldiers.

Congressmen McEwen illuminates the priorities of the Republican Party with unprecedented clarity (while wearing an irritatingly smug grin). Take retirement money from the poor and the middle class in this country and find new ways to hand it over to the wealthiest people in America (and lie as much as possible while doing it).

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