Heck's "Help" for Social Security? Say It Ain't So, Joe!

I certainly wasn't expecting to see this on Salon.com this morning.



Joe Heck asks:

"Did you know I can help with your SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS?"

I answer:

And how would you do that, Dr. Heck? By taking away Nevada seniors' Social Security benefits?



(These are Heck's own words!)

The kid who’s 18 years old — should that kid have to work to age 70? I don’t know but that could be a possibility to try to make this program work. Because look – Social Security started in 1935. … Fast forward to now. Full retirement age is 67 and the life span is 80. So when they first conceived Social Security they didn’t think they were going to be paying benefits for 13, 15 years. That’s one of the reasons why this pyramid scheme isn’t working.

(The following week, he doubled down on the "pyramid scheme" nonsense when he was a guest on Alan Stock's radio show.)

And don't forget Joe Heck's "Destroying America's Trust in Our Economy Act"! Remember what we discussed last November.

[...] Nowhere in Heck's "Restoring America's Faith and Trust Act" does it address the Bush tax rates, war spending, or economic health. Instead, Heck wants to slash federal investment in our people to 2006 levels and fire more public sector workers! Even though we have more miltary veterans in need of VA care, college students in need of Pell Grants, working poor families in need of Medicaid and food stamps, retirees in need of Medicare and Social Security, and unemployed workers in need of unemployment insurance, Heck refuses to acqknowledge this reality and instead has introduced this bill that would plunge our economy into double-dip recession if enacted!

If we were to slash all these programs and more, we would all pay the price of further suffering. Without unemployment insurance, those without work can't survive. Same goes for seniors on Medicare, working poor families on food stamps and Medicaid, students with Pell Grants, and veterans using VA assistance. If they can't even buy food and basic supplies, let alone purchase anything else, our economy would take a massive hit. Oh, and in the longer term the budget deficit would only worsen as tax revenue plunges because of even more people losing their jobs.

How on earth is that supposed to "help with your Social Security benefits"? When did hurting become "helping"? Maybe that's the case in "Tea Party Fantasy Land", but here in the real world Nevadans want to make sure Social Security remains strong and available for all seniors in need. Once again, Joe Heck needs a reality check.