Democratic operatives are worried about the November elections and are rolling out an old strategy to stop the bleeding: lie about Republicans' plans for Social Security. Their liberal allies on social media are quickly sharing doctored images of Republicans’ Commitment to America (the real Commitment to America is available here) that says the party will “Make Social Security solvent by eliminating double-dipping.” A claim made nowhere in the actual document published by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The fake image being shared on social media
The doctored image goes further to say any retiree “who have a pension, IRAs, 401k, disabled veteran benefits will be ineligible for Social Security benefits. Raise the age for Medicare eligibility to 75 and eligibility ends for anyone over the age of 90. Tax Disable Veteran benefits. Tax employer sponsored health care plans.”
Let me be clear, nowhere in the Commitment to America is there a plan to cut Social Security benefits for any seniors, change Medicare eligibility, or add new taxes.
Some social media users are now claiming the “screenshot” is from the original version of the document and has since been deleted. However, the deception becomes even more obvious when the image is looked at closer, there are areas where the image has been photoshopped to remove previous text with white boxes and lines covering the background image. Look at the white box on the right side of the second and third paragraphs, clearly covering up the original text to make this fake text. Additionally, the font used on the image is different from the font used by the official website.
Democrats are also failing to talk about the major issue that will impact Social Security in a decade. As the Social Security trust fund is depleted it will move to a cash basis, meaning it can only pay out benefits equal to the tax revenues coming in, a roughly 23% benefit cut for every senior on Social Security. Doing nothing guarantees a cut to seniors, if Republicans are able to re-take Congress, it is the perfect opportunity to pass bipartisan reforms like the Social Security Guarantee that protect current seniors, encourage saving for future retirees, and made modest adjustments to the program to make it relevant to today’s realities.
I encourage all AMAC members to be vigilant on social media to look for lies like this one and feel free to share this article to bring truth to the surface.
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