richer rich – poorer poor

Members of Congress – including leading Democrats – are talking about a budget deal that would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits while protecting the bloated Pentagon budget from planned cuts. [1]

Join us in telling President Obama and Members of Congress to reject any budget deal that cuts Social Security or Medicare benefits to protect the Pentagon budget:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dont-cut-social-security-20?source=c.url&r_by=1135580

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate, recently told Fox News Sunday that he would support cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits as part of a “grand bargain” with Republicans. [2] On CBS’s Face the Nation, Sen. Mark Warner – one of the Democrats picked to negotiate with Paul Ryan on the budget – said: “We all know at the end of the day…Democrats are going to have to give on entitlement reform.” [3]

The “grand bargain” these Democrats are talking about would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits to pay for bloated Pentagon spending, like Lockheed Martin’s boondoggle $1.5 trillion F-35 warplane. [4] $1.5 trillion represents more money than the entire savings over the next ten years from all current plans to cut federal discretionary spending – both Pentagon spending and domestic spending. And that’s just one unneeded weapons system.

Over the last year, the Washington Post [5] and other media have reported on the extraordinary perks that the Pentagon makes available to senior military commanders at taxpayer expense. These include paid military personnel and DOD civilians to cut grass, chauffeur, schedule events, and to perform other personal aide duties. They also include extraordinarily lavish housing and entitlement to tender and/or accept offers for post-retirement employment with Pentagon contractors and lobbying and investment firms, even if those firms handle the very same issues that the senior officer oversaw at taxpayers’ expense.  Asking citizens to watch their federally funded benefits shrink so we can pay for these personal perks for generals and admirals is not only offensive but also drives a deeper wedge between civilian society and uniformed military leadership.

Tell Congress and the President not to cut our earned Social Security and Medicare benefits in order to protect the obscene profits of Lockheed Martin and the lavish lifestyles of the pampered generals.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dont-cut-social-security-20?source=c.url&r_by=1135580

Thanks for all you do to make U.S. foreign policy accountable to the 99%,

Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy

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References:
1. “Cut Pentagon waste, not Social Security,” William Hartung, The Hill, 10/23/13,  http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/329963-cut-pentagon-waste-not-social-security
2. “Why Democrats Might Cave On Social Security Cuts,” Zach Carter, Huffington Post, 10/20/2013,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/20/democrats-social-security-cuts_n_4132087.html
3. “Sens. Graham, Warner describe possible components of big budget deal,” Rebecca Kaplan, October 20, 2013,
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57608347/sens-graham-warner-describe-possible-components-of-big-budget-deal/
4. “Sequester could ax F-35 jets,” Jeremy Herb, The Hill, 10/23/13, http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/procurement/330269-at-least-six-f-35-fighters-threatened-by-sequester-in-2014
5.”Petraeus scandal puts four-star general lifestyle under scrutiny,” Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Greg Jaffe, Washington Post, November 17, 2012, http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-17/world/35505221_1_robert-m-gates-commanders-joint-chiefs