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Social Security, Medicare are on the line this November—and women older than 50 know it
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Social Security, Medicare are on the line this November—and women older than 50 know it

Beth Almeida and Maggie Jo Buchanan discuss how MAGA Republicans’ extremist agenda and renewed efforts to slash Social Security and Medicare would particularly harm women over the age of 50.

Women older than 50 are the most likely group to vote in the midterm elections and make up a large and growing share of the electorate; in fact, nearly 1 in 3 votes cast in 2020 were from women in this age group. Despite women’s electoral heft, Republican Senate candidates like Blake Masters of Arizona, Adam Laxalt of Nevada and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin have called for cuts to two key programs on which 50+ women disproportionately rely on and strongly support: Social Security and Medicare.

But the truth is that they are hardly alone in today’s MAGA Republican Party. In fact, roughly 75 percent of Republicans in the U.S. House have signed on to a budget plan that would cut these programs. And a new report out this week reveals that all four Republicans running for the top slot on the House Budget Committee are vowing to hold America’s credit rating hostage and plunge our economy into recession in order to force severe cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits. It should therefore come as no surprise that recent polling shows many of these women feel misunderstood and even ignored by politicians, and have clear concerns that cut across ideological lines.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Beth Almeida

Senior Fellow

Maggie Jo Buchanan

Former Senior Director and Senior Legal Fellow, Women’s Initiative

Team

Women’s Initiative

The Women’s Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.

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