“Social Security” on The Daily Caller

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Rick Santorum called Mitt Romney “too timid” on his plan to reform Social Security, and compared the former Massachusetts governor with President Obama’s positions on the issue. (more)

So much for “hope and change”; “Yes, we can”; and the grammatically questionable “change we can believe in.” After three years of Barack Obama, the verdict is in. The official slogan for the era of Obama should be: “Dude, where’s my welfare?” (more)

BRENTWOOD, N.H. — Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum committed one of the gravest sins in Republican politics on Wednesday evening by knocking the revered former President Ronald Reagan at a packed town hall meeting. (more)

(Reuters) – The White House plans to ask Congress by the end of the week for an increase in the government’s debt ceiling to allow the United States to pay its bills on time, according to a senior Treasury Department official on Tuesday. (more)

Key features of payroll tax and jobless benefits bill passed Friday by the House and Senate: (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate leaders agreed on compromise legislation Friday night to extend Social Security payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits for two months while requiring President Barack Obama to accept Republican demands for a swift decision on the fate of an oil pipeline that promises thousands of jobs. (more)

House Speaker John Boehner told The Daily Caller that extending the payroll tax holiday along with spending cuts is “responsible” and won’t hurt Social Security. (more)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told The Daily Caller that the Social Security or “payroll” tax cut should not be “endless,” but that a year-long extension would not hurt the program as Social Security Trustee Charles Blahous has predicted. (more)

When it comes to political posturing, the current fight over extending this year’s payroll tax cut is a classic. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats backed away from their demand for higher taxes on millionaires as part of legislation to extend Social Security tax cuts for most Americans on Wednesday as Congress struggled to clear critical year-end bills without triggering a partial government shutdown. (more)

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in 1995 called Social Security “the most widely accepted government contract in America” and said it should be “off the table” when working toward a balanced federal budget. (more)

With the Senate deadlocked on how to pay for an extension to the payroll tax cut, House Republicans are planning to tie the vote to a number of Republican-backed issues that they say will create jobs. (more)

Republican presidential candidate and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said “there will be a shared sacrifice in this country” in terms of Social Security reform.  (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday sidetracked rival plans to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut, in dueling votes that pave the way for negotiations on a compromise on a core component of President Barack Obama’s jobs program. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as 55 million Social Security recipients are about to get their first benefit increase in three years, Congress is looking at reducing future raises by adopting a new measure of inflation that also would increase taxes for most families – the biggest impact falling on those with low incomes. (more)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York joined a group of House Democrats and progressive organizations in a rally on Capitol Hill to urge the super committee not to recommend Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefit cuts, arguing that the nation’s $14.9 trillion debt is “not as big a crisis” as the 9.1 percent unemployment rate. (more)

WASHINGTON – Private financial information belonging to as many as 5,000 college students was open for viewing on a federal government student loan website in recent weeks, according to a senior Department of Education staff member. (more)

The Occupy Wall Street movement has become a topic of national discussion. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — That didn’t last long. About 55 million Social Security recipients will get their first increase in benefits next year since 2009 — a 3.6 percent raise. But higher Medicare premiums could erase a big chunk of it. (more)

HENNIKER, N.H. — Before a crowd of just over 100 Monday morning, congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann took shots at Barack Obama, Rick Perry, the government’s management of Social Security funds, the U.S. Department of Education and the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters. (more)