Ron Johnson’s continued attacks on Social Security and Medicare are putting hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinite retirees at risk of losing their livelihoods and the benefits they have paid into throughout their lives. From his out-of-touch and self-serving agenda to voting to raise the retirement age, Johnson is waging a war with seniors.
Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes is committed to protecting Social Security and Medicare and will continue to hold Johnson accountable for his treatment of Wisconsin’s seniors.
Mandela Barnes Fought for Seniors and Their Benefits Across the State This Week:
READ: Mandela Barnes Joins New Grassroots Coalition “Seniors for Mandela” for Meet and Greet
This week, Mandela met with “Seniors for Mandela” members to hear about the issues most important to the group, including the protection of Social Security and Medicare, in light of Sen. Ron Johnson’s threats to the programs.
WGBA: Mandela Barnes in Appleton, speaks with supporters on upcoming election
“We’re going to remind people that nobody is going to be left behind,” said Barnes to the crowd. “People like Ron Johnson, they’ve had their day. It’s our time now.”
Barnes also highlighted that he comes from the working class, which has been a staple point throughout his campaigning efforts.
WUWM: Democratic Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes Spoke to Seniors About Social Security and Medicare
Democrat Mandela Barnes held a speech Monday at Vennture Brew Co. in Milwaukee’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
Barnes says the views and actions of his opponent, Republican incumbent Ron Johnson, are taking opportunities away from people like Barnes’ mother, a former teacher and his father, a former assembly line worker. Both worked union jobs.
Barnes says politicians like Johnson are out of touch with what voters want.
WJFW: Barnes talks about his plan for social security
Mandela Barnes spoke with us earlier about social security, a large area of concern for the state.
Barnes said he is looking to make sure that hard working Wisconsinites can enjoy their benefits like the generations before them.
“We’re fighting to protect our hard earned benefits, ones that our parents and grandparents spent their entire lives paying into, ones that allow every Wisconsinite to retire without putting food on the table or having to work beyond retirement age. We can do that by making sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share into the system. We cannot allow social security to be cut,” said Barnes.
Newswatch 12 reached out to Senator Johnson for comment but did not receive a response.
Meanwhile, Ron Johnson Doubled Down on His Attacks on Seniors
Common Dreams: Social Security Enemy Ron Johnson Endorses Plan to ‘Coax’ Retirees Back to Work
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson this week endorsed a proposal to “coax” seniors out of retirement to address so-called worker shortages, drawing backlash from his Democratic opponent and other critics who noted the GOP lawmaker’s long history of attacking Social Security.
The Republican senator’s comments came weeks after he sparked outrage by suggesting that funding for Social Security and Medicare should be discretionary rather than mandatory, a change that would pave the way for cuts or the complete demise of the popular programs.
Barnes, Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor, was quick to respond to Johnson’s latest remarks, slamming his opponent for “waging a war on our seniors and the benefits they’ve worked towards their entire lives.”
“Ron Johnson’s solution to the labor shortage: send seniors back to work,” Barnes said in a statement Thursday, noting that Johnson has voted to raise the retirement age from 65 to 70.
Mediaite: Sen. Ron Johnson Wants to ‘Coax’ Senior Citizens Out of Retirement to Boost U.S. Labor Force
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) revealed a different kind of plan to boost the U.S. workforce during a telephone town hall session Wednesday night.
In the clip, circulating Twitter via Heartland Signal, the Republican from Wisconsin referenced the need for more Americans in the workforce.
Johnson has previously been under fire for suggesting, in early August, that Social Security and Medicare should be eliminated. He advised instead that the programs fall under the government’s discretionary spending for which Congress could approve a budget for annually:
“What we ought to be doing is we ought to turn everything into discretionary spending so it’s all evaluated so that we can fix problems or fix programs that are broken, that are going to be going bankrupt,” Johnson said. “As long as things are on automatic pilot, we just continue to pile up debt.
Original source can be found here.
