AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other national leaders of unions and progressive groups actively involved in discussions over fiscal priorities met with President Obama Tuesday morning at the White House. Trumka and the group urged Obama to not give more tax cuts to those making more than $250,000 and to not cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The group also pledged to support the president in fighting for a good deal for the country, even if that means negotiating into the new year. Afterward, Trumka told reporters:  

Across the board, a majority of voters oppose cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits to give millionaires and billionaires more tax breaks.

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Some legislators and their friends on Wall Street are set on reaching a “grand bargain” during the post-election "lame duck" session of Congress that would cut the benefits that we and our children will depend on. They want to raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare, cut our Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)and cut Medicaid, which could force families into bankruptcy when a loved one needs long-term care. 

Watch the video in the post, "Tell Congress: No Benefit Cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," then sign this petition to tell them why Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are important to you.

Some news outlets have suggested that Republicans have changed their position on taxes after their resounding defeat on Tuesday. This is not the case. Republicans are still demanding lower tax rates for the richest 2% of Americans, paid for by cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

Yesterday, the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, said that Republicans are “willing to accept new revenue under the right conditions.” But this is the same position Republicans have staked out for more than a year.

Thursday morning outside Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) Cincinnati office (see photo), a young single mother and her son, Vincent, who has severe disabilities, talked about the vital role Medicaid plays in their lives and how devastating any cuts to that health care lifeline would be.

The action was just one of more than 100 last week by working family activists urging Congress not to agree to a so-called “grand bargain” of deficit reduction in the upcoming lame-duck session that includes Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefit cuts.

As working families all over the country celebrated President Obama's re-election last night, we also began mobilizing to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from benefit cuts.

Sign the petition: www.aflcio.org/ProtectOurFuture.

Cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid just so that millionaires and billionaires can continue to receive tax breaks and other giveaways? "We could not disagree more," says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in an Op-Ed in today's Politico, "Americans Don't Want 'Grand Bargain.'"