Sen. Sanders to Gov. Bush: ‘No, We Will Not Cut Social Security!’

WASHINGTON, June 3 – In the midst of massive wealth and income inequality and at a time when poverty among seniors is rising, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today ripped former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for recently proposing massive cuts to Social Security.

“I have a hard time understanding what world Gov. Bush and his billionaire backers live in,” said Sanders, the founder of the Senate Defending Social Security Caucus.

“At a time when more than half of the American people have less than $10,000 in savings, it would be a disaster to cut Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age. It is unacceptable to ask construction workers, truck drivers, nurses and other working-class Americans to work until they are 68 to 70 years old before qualifying for full Social Security benefits, added Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee .

In an interview last Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Bush suggested raising the retirement age from 65 to 68 or 70.

“Jeb Bush's plan to raise the retirement age is just a continuation of the war that is being waged by the Republicans against working-class Americans in order to reward billionaires on Wall Street,” Sanders said.