ELIZABETH WARREN HAS THE ESTABLISHMENT ON ROPES

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Warrenphobia: How Sen. Warren Has The Establishment On The Ropes
posted by Salvatore Aversa December 8, 2013 Current Events, Most Popular, Politics SPREAD THE WORD!10 Earlier this week in an op-ed to The Wall Street Journal, Third Way, which bills itself as a “Liberal” think tank, spoke out against Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats who want to protect beneficiaries against cuts from Social Security and other public safety net programs.  This is just one in a long line of attacks against Democrats who refuse to become mouthpieces for corporate interests.
In 2012, Warren ran on a message of reining in Wall Street and protecting Americans.  Warren developed a fan base in 2010, when she advocated for the creation of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  While many Democrats, including President Obama, wanted to place Warren as the Director, Congressional Republicans opposed her and was eventually denied.
It was then that Warren because Republicans and Wall Street’s worst nightmare.  Instead of giving up the idea of becoming a public servant, she decided to go one step further.  On September 14, 2011, Elizabeth Warren announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate.  Campaigning on a message of protecting Americans from Wall Street, her message was received very well across the country.  A video of Warren in a Andover resident’s home went viral on the internet after making a statement that those on the Left have been waiting years to hear.
In the video, she said:
“You built a factory out there? Good for you,” she says. “But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.  Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
Warren received an instant boost in funding, and so did the incumbent Senator Scott Brown.  While Warren received funding in the form of small donations through private citizens, Brown raked in millions from Wall Street.
Even back then, Warren was striking fear in Wall Street and Republicans.  When Republicans opposed Warren’s appointment to the CFPB, they believed she would disappear into private life.  Instead, she continued to fight for what she believed in and now has more power than she ever would have as Director of the CFPB.
Recently, Senator Warren backed legislation by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) that would expand Social Security benefits.  The expansion would be paid for by a number of changes, none of which would harm beneficiaries.
From Senator Harkin’s page:
The Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 would:
• Strengthen Benefits by Reforming the Social Security Benefit Formula: To improve benefits for current and future Social Security beneficiaries, the Act changes the method by which the Social Security Administration calculates Social Security benefits.  This change will boost benefits for all Social Security beneficiaries by approximately $70 per month, but is targeted to help those in the low and middle of the income distribution, for whom Social Security has become an ever greater share of their retirement income.
• Ensure that Cost of Living Adjustments Adequately Reflect the Living Expenses of Retirees: The Act changes the way the Social Security Administration calculates the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA).  To ensure that benefits better reflect cost increases facing seniors, future COLAs will be based on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).  Making this change to Social Security is expected to result in higher COLAs, ensuring that seniors are able to better keep up with the rising costs of essential items, like health care.
• Improve the Long Term Financial Condition of the Trust Fund: Social Security is not in crisis, but does face a long-term deficit.  To help extend the life of the trust fund the Act phases out the current taxable cap of $113,700 so that payroll taxes apply fairly to every dollar of wages.
The legislation comes on the heels of some center-left Democrats who may embrace a Republican plan to reduce benefits based on the chained CPI.  In comparison to the Harkin plan, chained CPI would:
[…]Lead to a larger across-the-board cut in Social Security benefits and a 0.19 percent income surtax, according to experts. Those changes could make the proposal politically unpalatable for some, which is why some budget watchdog groups have argued that the only fair way to implement such a change would be to couple it with an increase in Social Security benefits and to exempt Supplemental Security Income, which provides support for impoverished elderly, disabled and blind people.
The plan that Warren is going along with, coupled with her demanding action against the banks, has Wall Street scared.  Making her even more dangerous for Wall Street, is the reception she receives from the public.  Apart from the venomous Right, that hates anything and everything that Democrats stand for, Americans largely agree with Warren and want those acted immorally against the public good to be held accountable.
Warren’s other quest to expose the forces behind much of the legislation aimed against the American people and where the money is being funneled through.  Wall Street is scared, as they should be.  Their stranglehold on the American public via Congress is coming to an end.
VideoA clip from Rachel Maddow of Elizabeth Warren decrying proposals for Social Security cuts, and instead advocates for the expansion of the program.