One-Term Wonder Congressman Rod Blum has already proven he is not on the side of Iowa’s middle class families, and now Rand Paul, who’s never met an outside the mainstream belief he didn’t support, is making Blum’s agenda even more clear. Tomorrow, Paul is set to campaign with Blum in Iowa where they will continue their anti-middle class crusade they began together in 2014. Paul is fresh off a week of peddling bizarre theories about vaccines.
On the issues, Paul and Blum see eye to eye on privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age, opposing a minimum wage increase, and voucherizing Medicare.
“It’s no surprise that One-Term Wonder Congressman Rod Blum and Rand Paul are campaigning together this weekend,” said Tyrone Gayle of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Whether it’s opposing giving working Iowa families a raise, wanting to privatize Social Security and gamble seniors’ retirement on Wall Street, or jeopardizing Medicare – Congressman Blum and Rand Paul are two peas in a pod who support policies that would hurt Iowa middle class families.”
BACKGROUND
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul compared Medicare to socialism and said proposals to turn Medicare into a voucher program were “too little” and “too timid.” He called Social Security a Ponzi scheme and advocated privatizing it and raising the retirement age. Paul compared the U.S. government to Nazi Germany and said believing in the “right to health care” means believing in slavery. He opposes requiring business owners to serve customers of all races, opposes raising the minimum wage
Blum Recommended Raising the Retirement Age. In 2005, Blum wrote that raising the retirement age from 65 would help address potential shortfalls in Social Security funding. “The retirement age can be raised. When Social Security was founded in 1935, the retirement age was 65 but the average life expectancy was about 60. Because people are living longer, raising the age further would better reflect a realistic expectation of working years,” Blum wrote. [Telegraph Herald, 2/06/05]
Blum Suggested Converting Medicare to Voucher System. In 2010, Blum suggested converting Medicare to a voucher system that would allow retirees to purchase private insurance with government issued voucher. “Medicare could become a voucher system, whereby each retiree can purchase private insurance with a government issued voucher,” Blum wrote. [Telegraph Herald, 5/02/10]
Blum Supported President Bush’s Privatization of Social Security. In 2002 Rod Blum wrote: “President Bush’s Social Security Commission, chaired by former Democratic Sen. Moynihan, recommends personal retirement accounts that would let workers build up true nest eggs for themselves. […] We should let people choose: the old system with a 1 percent return on your money and you own nothing or a new system with larger retirement checks and a nest-egg you own.” [Telegraph Herald, 9/1/02]
AP: Blum is “Opposed to an Increase in the Minimum Wage.” “Blum, the co-owner of a software company, campaigned on a conservative agenda of reducing government regulation and cutting taxes. He opposed an increase in the minimum wage and supported changes to Social Security to reduce benefits to wealthy people and possibly increase the retirement age.” [Associated Press, 11/04/14]