Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes
By Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes
Unlike many in Washington, I don’t come from a wealthy or well-connected family. I’m the proud son of a union family whose father worked as an auto worker for 30 years before retiring.
That’s why the fight to protect Social Security and Medicare is so personal to me. I’ve seen firsthand how these lifesaving programs have helped people like my father and grandfather transition to the next phase of their lives after retiring.
Every American should be able to retire without worrying about putting food on their tables, affording their prescriptions, and especially having to work beyond the retirement age to make ends meet—but every day that Ron Johnson remains a U.S. senator, he puts that guarantee at risk.
For years, Ron Johnson has attacked Social Security, calling it a “Ponzi Scheme” as he’s worked to dismantle it. Now, he wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block and deny Wisconsinites the benefits they have paid into all their lives. He voted to raise the retirement age to 70 and supports a plan that would sunset Social Security in five years. He wouldn’t care if our seniors work for the rest of their lives, as long as he and his wealthy donors were taken care of.
When I hear Johnson threaten these programs, I think of seniors all across the state who rely on these benefits to retire with dignity after a lifetime of work. I worry for people like my mom and dad, who every day rely…
