Actuary: GOP Budget Plan Would Gut Social Security

Rep. Paul Ryan authored the Republican budget road map, which the Chief Actuary of Social Security said would drastically cut benefits.

Election gives voters a choice on program's future

If Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the Nov. 2 election, Paul Ryan (R-WI) is positioned to become Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, where budgets begin the process of becoming law. From there, Ryan could make good on his plans to privatize Social Security.

The Raw Story is now reporting the results of study which show Ryan's "Roadmap for America's Future" would be devastating to Social Security beneficiaries:

The Chief Actuary of Social Security analyzed a proposal from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the GOP's ranking member on the budget committee, who could become its chairman in January, and found that new entrants in the US workforce could see massive decreases in their payouts upon retirement.

It was unveiled Wednesday by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), chairman of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, less than two weeks before an election in which Democrats have elevated Social Security into a major campaign issue.

"The new analysis reveals that these proposals result in benefits cuts ranging from ten percent to as high as 50 percent," Pomeroy said in a statement. "As I talk to seniors today about stretching their Social Security benefits with no cost of living adjustment in sight, they would not agree with describing cuts of this magnitude as 'modest'."

The Social Security Trust Fund is currently running a $2.5 trillion surplus. Wall Street is drooling over the chance to gamble with that money and skim huge fees and bonuses off the top. Their bought political candidates are eager to let that happen, but we must not give them the opportunity.