Showing posts with label privatization. Show all posts

13 August 2025

Sign the petition: Trump's backdoor to privatizing Social Security 11AUG25

EVERYONE knows by now NOT MY pres drumpf / trump is a compulsive, repulsive sociopathic psychopathic LIAR. He campaigned promising to protect and maintain Social Security but all along has been planning to privatize it. Please sign this petition from Demand Progress telling congress to protect Social Security from privatization and also e mail your representative and senators to prevent the privatizing of Social Security and to strengthen it by lifting the tax cap ( the amount of income subject to Social Security taxes, set at $176,000 for 2025 ). My e mails will be at the end of this post.....

TELL CONGRESS: After months of slashing funding and staff at the Social Security Administration, the White House now says that Trump's big budget law includes a "backdoor way for privatizing Social Security." The fight to protect Social Security is urgent. Sign the petition: Block Trump's scheme to destroy Social Security.

ADD YOUR NAME

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent openly admitted that Trump’s big budget bill includes a "backdoor way for privatizing Social Security."¹

The existential threat to Social Security has grown ever-more serious under Trump 2.0. For months, the Trump administration, DOGE and GOP leaders have taken a sledgehammer to the Social Security Administration. The White House fired thousands of workers at the agency and closed field offices. Call wait times are now the worst on record, with seniors waiting hours, days, or weeks just to get basic help with the income they rely on.^2,3

Now, the Trump administration isn’t even trying to hide its attacks on Social Security. Our lawmakers need to take action immediately and save the public benefits program before Trump rips it away from millions of people.

Sign the petition: Don’t let Trump privatize and destroy Social Security!

ADD YOUR NAME

Trump has claimed over and over again that he won’t touch Social Security. But the reality is that his big ugly budget bill not only slashed Medicaid and handed tax breaks to billionaires — it also set in motion a plan to undermine Social Security.

“Republicans' ultimate goal is to privatize Social Security, and there isn't a backdoor they won’t try to make Wall Street's dream a reality,” said the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard Neal.⁴

For decades, Social Security has provided tens of millions of seniors and people with disabilities with economic security and the ability to live with dignity. Our lawmakers can’t allow the Trump administration to take this critical program away from so many people.

Sign the petition: Save Social Security from DOGE and Trump!

Thanks for taking action,

Joey and the Demand Progress team

DONATE

Sources:

Common Dreams, "Bessent Admits Trump Tax Scam Offers 'Backdoor for Privatizing Social Security',” July 30, 2025.
NPR, “Employee cuts at Social Security are leaving remaining workers struggling to keep up,” July 4, 2025.
The Hill, "Warren wants answers from Social Security chief on phone wait times,” July 28, 2025.
Common Dreams, "Bessent Admits Trump Tax Scam Offers 'Backdoor for Privatizing Social Security',” July 30, 2025.

Contributions to ActBlue Civics and Demand Progress Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Instagram or Twitter.

Bessent Admits Trump Tax Scam Offers 'Backdoor for Privatizing Social Security'

"Despite their repeated claims they wanted to protect Social Security, the Trump administration said the quiet part out loud," said one critic in response to the billionaire treasury secretary's candid comments.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday admitted that a provision in Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a mechanism for privatizing Social Security—something President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he won't do.

Speaking at a policy event hosted by the far-right news site Breitbart, Bessent touted the so-called "Trump accounts" available to all U.S. citizen children starting next July under the OBBBA signed by the president earlier this month.

"In a way, it is a backdoor way for privatizing Social Security," the billionaire former hedge fund manager said of the accounts. "Social Security is a defined benefit plan paid out—that to the extent that if all of a sudden these accounts grow, and you have in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement, that's a game-changer."

Responding to Bessent's admission, Tim Hogan—the Democratic National Committee senior adviser for messaging, mobilization, and strategy—said that the treasury secretary "just said the quiet part out loud: The administration is scheming to privatize Social Security."

"It wasn't enough to kick millions of people off their healthcare and take food away from hungry kids," Hogan added. "Trump is now coming after American seniors with a 'backdoor' scam to take away the benefits they earned. Democrats won't stand by as Trump screws over working families in order to give more handouts to billionaires."

House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said in a statement: "Today, the treasury secretary said the quiet part out loud: Republicans' ultimate goal is to privatize Social Security, and there isn't a backdoor they won't try to make Wall Street's dream a reality. For everyone else though, it's yet another warning sign that they cannot be trusted to safeguard the program millions rely on and have paid into over a lifetime of work."

Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, mocked Trump's promises to preserve the key program upon which more than 70 million Americans rely—and called him out for eviscerating the Social Security Administration (SSA).

"So much for Donald Trump's campaign promise to protect Social Security," Altman said in a statement. "First, he gave Elon Musk the power to gut SSA. Now, Trump's treasury secretary has said the quiet part out loud. He is bragging about the administration's goal to privatize Social Security."

"First, they are undermining public confidence in Social Security by making false claims about fraud (which is virtually nonexistent) and wrecking the system's service to the public," Altman continued. "Then, once they have broken Social Security, they will say that Wall Street needs to come in and save it."

"That is a terrible idea," she added. "Unlike private savings, Social Security is a guaranteed earned benefit that you can't outlive. It has stood strong through wars, recessions, and pandemics. The American people have a message for Trump and Bessent: Keep Wall Street's hands off our Social Security!"

Alliance for Retired Americans executive director Richard Fiesta said that "Bessent let the cat out of the bag: This administration is coming for Social Security."

"We're not surprised—but we are alarmed because this administration has already taken multiple steps to weaken and dismantle Social Security," Fiesta added, highlighting the weakening of the SSA, false fraud claims, and "the massive tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations" under the OBBBA that experts say will hasten the Social Security Trust Fund's insolvency.

The progressive watchdog Accountable.US called Bessent's remarks "a shocking confession."

"Despite their repeated claims they wanted to protect Social Security, the Trump administration said the quiet part out loud: The Big Ugly Betrayal is a backdoor way to privatize Social Security," Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk said in a statement.

"Once again the administration is risking the financial security of millions of Americans in order to protect a system rigged in the favor of big corporations and billionaires," Carrk added.

In another blow to Social Security recipients, the Trump administration is set to implement a new policy next month that is expected to further increase wait times for basic services. As Common Dreams reported Wednesday, starting in mid-August, SSA will no longer allow seniors to use their phones for routine tasks they've been able to perform for decades.

Brett Wilkins

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MY E MAILS TO REP SUBRAMANYAM D-VA 10TH, SEN WARNER D-VA AND SEN KAINE D-VA

NOT MY pres drumpf / trump plans on privatizing Social Security though he campaigned on protecting it. Privatizing Social Security is not protecting it. I expect you to work with the entire Virginia congressional delegation as will as representatives and senators of all states from both parties to prevent Social Security from being privatized. I also expect you to work with these politicians to eliminate the Social Security tax cap or at the very least to raise it from $176,000.00 to a minimum of $500,000.00. I, like the majority of retirees, need my Social Security, and also want it to be financially viable for future retirees.

Thank you

19 December 2024

MY e mail to Rep Wexton D-VA and Senators Kaine D-VA and Warner D-VA on the drumpf / trump-musk-vance proposal to privatize the USPS. 19DEZ24

MY e mail to Rep Wexton D-VA and Senators Kaine D-VA and Warner D-VA on the drumpf / trump-musk-vance proposal to privatize the USPS.

CONVICTED felon (NOT MY) pres-elect drumpf / trump wants to privatize the USPS because it is loosing money (?). One thing drumpf / trump does know about is businesses loosing money, the number of times he and / or his businesses have filed for bankruptcy proves that. If he privatizes the USPS mail delays, price increases, and working conditions will only get worse. We can’t let the drumpf / trump-musk-vance regime ruin the USPS. Congress must block drumpf’s / trump's plans to privatize the USPS!

"Trump eyes privatizing U.S. Postal Service" SIGN THE PETITION: Stop Trump's plan to privatize the Post Office Says Donald Trump has "bankrupted his companies not once, not twice but four times."& 18DEZ24 & 21JUN16

CONVICTED felon (NOT MY) pres-elect drumpf / trump wants to privatize the USPS because it is loosing money (due to lack of management of the director of the USPS by congress). One thing drumpf / trump does know about is businesses loosing money, the number of times he and / or his businesses have filed for bankruptcy proves that. Please sign this petition from Demand Progress, and if you have the time e mail a quick note to your representative and senators telling them to stop any attempt by the drumpf / trump-vance administration to privatize the USPS ( I did ). This from Demand Progress and Politifact.....

TELL CONGRESS: Trump has interest in privatizing the Post Office. If he does, mail delays, price increases, and working conditions will only get worse. We can’t let the Trump-Musk regime ruin the USPS. Sign the petition: Urge Congress to block Trump’s plans to privatize the USPS!

ADD YOUR NAME

Trump just said his administration is interested in privatizing the Post Office¹ in what would be a major boon for corporate profiteers and a significant blow to consumers and workers.

So-called “efficiency” and privatization are taking center stage again in the Trump-Musk transition, even as Trump’s handpicked Postmaster General Louis DeJoy runs a USPS with serious delay issues and constant price increases. A bipartisan outcry has continued for months over DeJoy’s handling of the mail service, but privatization will make things so much worse at USPS.

Sign the petition: Urge Congress to block Trump’s plans to privatize the USPS!

ADD YOUR NAME

A top Trump official said private companies are much better than the USPS. He added that the first Trump administration “didn’t finish the job” on privatization, “but we should finish it now.”²

During his first term, Trump called the Post Office a joke and withheld emergency funding from the agency unless it jacked up prices.³ Now he wants to fully hand over the USPS to private operators. Our leaders need to stand in the way.

Sign the petition: Urge members of Congress to stand against any plan to privatize USPS!

Thanks for taking action,

Joey and the team at Demand Progress

DONATE

Sources:

Washington Post, “Trump eyes privatizing U.S. Postal Service, citing financial losses,” December 14, 2024.
Ibid.
Ibid.

Contributions to ActBlue Civics and Demand Progress Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Instagram or Twitter.

Yep, Donald Trump's companies have declared bankruptcy...more than four times

Hillary Clinton mocked Donald Trump’s business failings in a major speech arguing that the presumptive Republican nominee would be disastrous for the economy.

"He’s written a lot of books about business. They all seem to end at Chapter 11," Clinton quipped, adding. "He bankrupted his companies not once, not twice, but four times."

We rated a similarly worded claim from Trump’s former primary rival Carly Fiorina Mostly True, because it’s not accurate to say Trump is solely to blame. (For the record, Trump doesn’t deny the charge and instead argues it was a smart business decision.) At the time, we found four bankruptcies, but since then, we’ve found two more for a total of six. So Clinton was right that Trump bankrupted companies four times, and she could have offered a higher count as well.

Let’s go through them one by one.

Bankruptcy No. 1: The Trump Taj Mahal, 1991

Trump’s first bankruptcy may have hit the businessman, personally, the hardest, according to news reports.

He funded the construction of the $1 billion Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J., which opened in 1990, primarily with junk bonds at a whopping 14 percent interest. A year later, the casino was nearly $3 billion in debt, while Trump had racked up nearly $900 million in personal liabilities. So Trump decided to file for Chapter 11 reorganization, according to the New York Times.

As a result, Trump gave up half his personal stake in the casino and sold his yacht and airline, according to the Washington Post.

Bankruptcy No. 2: Trump Castle, 1992

Within a year of his first Chapter 11 filing, Trump found himself in bankruptcy court again for Trump Castle, which opened in 1985. It was his "weakest gambling hall," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, and ironically faced competition from Trump Taj Mahal. In March 1992, the Castle filed a prepackaged bankruptcy plan, and Trump gave up his 50 percent share in the casino for lower interest rates on $338 million worth of bonds.

Bankruptcy No. 3: Trump Plaza and Casino, 1992

The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, which opened in 1984, declared bankruptcy at the same time as the Castle. A $210 million joint project of Trump’s and Harrah’s, the casino had racked up $250 million in debt by 1992, after a staggering 80 percent decline in cash flow. So Trump Plaza filed for prepackaged bankruptcy that spring as well.

Bankruptcy No. 4: Plaza Hotel, 1992

Later that year, Trump filed bankruptcy on another Plaza, this one in New York. Trump purchased the Plaza Hotel in Midtown Manhattan for $390 million in 1988, but it accumulated more than $550 million in debt by 1992. In December 1992, Trump relinquished a 49 percent stake in the Plaza to a total of six lenders, according to ABC News. Trump remained the hotel’s CEO, but it was merely a gesture; he didn’t earn a salary and had no say in the hotel’s day-to-day operations, according to the New York Times.

Bankruptcy No. 5: Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts, 2004

Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts filed for bankruptcy again in 2004 when his casinos -- including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza casinos in Atlantic City, and a riverboat casino in Indiana -- had accrued an estimated $1.8 billion in debt, according to the Associated Press. Trump agreed to reduce his share in the company from 47 percent to 27 percent in a restructuring plan, but he was still the company’s largest single shareholder and remained in charge of its operations. Trump told the Associated Press at the time that the company represented less than 1 percent of his net worth.

Bankruptcy No. 6: Trump Entertainment Resorts, 2009

Trump Entertainment Resorts -- formerly Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts -- was hit hard by the 2008 economic recession and missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment in December 2008, according to ABC News. It declared Chapter 11 in February 2009. After debating with the company’s board of directors, Trump resigned as the company’s chairman and had his corporate stake in the company reduced to 10 percent. The company continued to use Trump’s name in licensing.

Whose fault is it anyways?

Experts told us during the primary season Trump alone didn’t cause the bankruptcies. While six in 25 years is a lot, five were tied to a struggling gaming industry.

Trump was acting, they said, as any investor would. Investors often own many non-integrated companies, which they fund by taking on debt, and some of them inevitably file for bankruptcy, Adam Levitin, a law professor at Georgetown University, previously told us.

He added that people typically wouldn’t personally blame former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney or investor Warren Buffett for individual failures within their investment companies, Bain Capital and Berkshire Hathaway, respectively.

"The only difference is that Trump puts his name on his companies, which means people associate them with him, but he's not at all the leader in the bankruptcy space," Levitin said.

Our ruling

Clinton said, Trump has "bankrupted his companies not once, not twice but four times."

Trump has actually filed Chapter 11 six times, four times within two years in the 1990s, once more in 2004 and once more in 2009. But experts told us Trump shouldn’t bear all the responsibility, as Clinton’s wording suggests, as the majority of bankruptcies happened as the overall casino industry struggled.

We rate her claim Mostly True.

Share The Facts

Carly Fiorina

Presidential candidate

Says Donald Trump was "forced to file for bankruptcy not once, not twice, four times."

In a debate – Wednesday, September 16, 2015

12 November 2015

How we care for our veterans 11NOV15

CONTINUING with the vets theme, since this is the week of Veteran's Day (11 Nov) here is a piece from Sen Bernie Sanders I VT about his work for our nation's veterans and a chance to sign his petition calling for the rejection of koch brothers plan, being pushed by the cva / concerned veterans of america, to privatize veterans health care. With another make the rich richer scheme in the works it is no wonder American veterans weren't mentioned during this Tuesday's (10 Nov) republican presidential debate. And click the Bernie 2016 logo to go to his campaign website for more information on his presidential platform.....

If you watched last night’s debate, there was a lot of talk about war in places like Iraq and Syria, but very little about how to care for the men and women who serve after they return home.

Today is Veterans Day — a fact that went unmentioned during the Republican debate. And that’s important, because the truth is that while planes and tanks and guns are a cost of war, so too is taking care of the service members who use those weapons and fight our battles.

Last year, as chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I authored and passed the most comprehensive veterans’ legislation in decades, reaching across the aisle to team up with Sen. John McCain. Amid reports of unacceptable wait times and calls to dangerously privatize veterans health care, we actually authorized funding for 27 new medical facilities and hired more doctors and nurses to care for the surging number of veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After two wars over 14 years, never before have so few been asked to do so much for our country. I voted against the Iraq War, which I think will go down as one of the worst foreign policy blunders we have ever seen, but I have never wavered from my commitment to caring for the women and men who served, and continue to serve, in that conflict.

You may not have heard much about it from the Republican candidates last night, but how we care for our veterans is going to be a central issue this election. The Koch-connected Concerned Veterans for America is prepared to spend untold millions of dollars supporting the privatization of veterans’ health care. And almost every Republican candidate running for president supports their plan to place the profits of private corporations over the promise made to our veterans.

I believe we should take a different approach — that we should stand with the majority of veterans who believe we should continue strengthening the VA. Now I want to know that you’re with us.

Sign my petition if I can count on you to help me continue fighting against the Koch-connected plans to privatize veterans’ health care.

This issue is very important to me and it’s why I am so happy to receive so many letters from veterans who appreciate my work on their behalf.

People like Hilary from Polk County, Iowa who wrote to our campaign saying, “Bernie Sanders is the only candidate with a track record of fighting for veterans and veterans' rights. I know as president he won't send my brothers and sisters in arms into needless wars and for those that have served our country, he will ensure that they have access to the benefits and health care they earned through their service.”

And Peter from San Diego, “Retired Navy. Like [Bernie’s] stand on taking care of veterans. If you can't afford to take care of veterans you can't afford to fight a war.”

And also Jack from Massachusetts, “I'm a disabled Marine combat veteran, Bernie has always supported veterans with deeds and not just hot air. I'd love to have a President like that.”

I will always fight for Hilary, Peter, and Jack. And if we all stand together, we can protect and strengthen the care we provide for everyone who has served our country.

Sign my petition opposing Republican plans to privatize veterans’ health care.

The United States has spent trillions of dollars sending our young men and women to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Surely we can come together to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs has the resources needed to care for them when they return.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

20 June 2014

On Iraq, McCain Won't Take McCain's Advice 19JUN14

sen john mccain r AZ has a feeble brain and a big mouth. Yes, he did serve our country with honor during the Vietnam war, and yes, he suffered for our country as a POW in (then) N Vietnam. That doesn't make him an expert on military and foreign policy. As a politician he has devolved into a mealy mouthed political shrill feigning concern and compassion for our active duty service personnel and our vets while kow-towing to the extreme right wing of his party, supporting policies that enrich the military-industrial complex and the privatization for profit of veterans services cabal. His failed presidential campaign shows the nation is no longer impressed or swayed by his warmongering rhetoric. It is time for sen mccain to get over himself. From +Mother Jones .....

On Iraq, McCain Won't Take McCain's Advice

—By David Corn

| Thu Jun. 19, 2014 1:19 PM EDT

The couple, in happier times Navy Chief Petty Officer Joshua Treadwell/Flickr

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) went ballistic. In response to the intensifying crisis in Iraq, an apoplectic McCain took to the Senate floor and demanded the resignation of President Barack Obama's entire national security team. He huffed that Obama's advisers have "been a total failure." He suggested that Obama was somehow responsible for the present predicament in Iraq. And what was McCain's big idea for addressing the crisis? What steps would he take had he not been prevented from becoming commander in chief by Obama? The senator proposed calling in former General David Petraeus, who led US forces in Iraq during the 2007 surge, and former General James Mattis, who succeeded Petraeus. That was it: Ask Petraeus what to do.
Well, it turns out, McCain wouldn't abide by his own advice. Earlier this week, I contacted Petraeus' office to ask what he thought the president should be doing in Iraq. Not surprisingly, Petraeus did not respond to the invitation (which was probably one of many from reporters). But on Wednesday, Petraeus, speaking at a conference in London, did share his current views. He accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of "undermining" national reconciliation—an obvious point made by most observers. He also declared that Iraq needed a more inclusive government—another obvious point that the president and others have pushed. And Petraeus dismissed the possibility of US airstrikes against the Sunni insurgents that have captured several cities in Iraq:

This cannot be the United States being the air force of Shia militias or a Shia-on-Sunni Arab fight. It has to be a fight of all of Iraq against extremists who do happen to be Sunni Arabs but extremists that are wreaking havoc on a country that really had an enormous opportunity back in 2011, has made progress in certain areas but has certainly not capitalized on that enormous opportunity in the way that we had all hoped.

McCain, apparently, wasn't listening. On Thursday, McCain went full McCain. He called for ousting Maliki. (Obama and his aides are trying to nudge Maliki aside, but it's not a snap-of-the-fingers task to get rid of a Washington-endorsed guy who was elected.) And McCain demanded, yes, airstrikes:

Of course Maliki has to be transitioned out. But the only way that's going to happen is for us to assure Iraqis that we will be there to assist. And let me make it clear: No one that I know wants to send combat troops on the ground, but airstrikes are an important factor, psychologically and many other ways, and that may require some forward air controllers and some special forces.

Several other GOPers joined McCain on the Senate floor to denounce Obama. On the other side of the Capitol, House Speaker John Boehner has been blasting Obama on Iraq, accusing the president of "napping" but not proposing any specific actions. On Wednesday, Boehner refused to comment on whether Obama should order airstrikes. The crisis is confounding Obama's GOP critics. And they're not even listening to Petraeus.