From Staff Reports 

SPARTANBURG, S.C.  â€” U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-Greenville, asserted during an Aug. 27 meeting in Spartanburg that the nation’s Social Security system is facing a potential financial apocalypse and that changes are needed in the very near future to ensure that it will continue to be able to serve millions of older and retired Americans who rely on its benefits to pay their bills. 

Timmons , who serves the 4th District covering much of Upstate South Carolina, made his Social Security assessment statement while answering a question from the audience at a meeting of OneSpartanburg Inc., which bills itself as a “collaborative organization (that) was formed by merging the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Spartanburg Economic Futures Group in order to maximize our community’s investment.”

As for Timmons’ assertion about the dire financial health of the Social Security system, the Upstate Post and Courier stated in an Aug. 27 story that it “puts him at odds with major figures from the Republican and Democratic parties.”

The P&C story added, “The Republican congressman, who narrowly survived a bruising June primary, said the Republican and Democratic nominees for president — former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, respectively — have the same position on Social Security: They won’t touch it.”

“Anybody that tells you they’re not going to touch Social Security is lying to you,” Timmons was quoted in the P&C story as saying. “By not touching it, you touch it.”

Meanwhile, Timmons responded to the Daily Planet’s request for an update — or further elaboration — on his assertion about the looming financial crisis of the Social Security system with the following statement that was emailed to the newspaper on Sept. 6:

“I want to strengthen and preserve Social Security for generations to come. 

“If we continue to do nothing, come 2030, everyone now on Social Security will get a 25 percent cut. 

“By not addressing the challenges facing Social Security today, you ensure benefits will be cut for millions of seniors who rely on it today and tomorrow. That is wrong. 

“Politicians like Kathryn Harvey and Kamala Harris want to keep pointing fingers when it comes to Social Security, but I want to actually do something to protect South Carolina seniors from losing a quarter of their benefits.”

To that end, the Aug. 27 story in the Upstate Post and Courier stated the following:

“Forecasts have shown that time is running out on the program. In May, federal officials said the program’s trust funds that cover old age and disability recipients won’t be able to pay full benefits starting in 2035. It would only be able to pay 83 percent of benefits.

“Trump, whose endorsement helped Timmons stave off a primary challenge from S.C. Freedom Caucus Chairman Adam Morgan, said he would not touch Social Security. 

“President Joe Biden has been ironclad in his support for the program, while newly nominated Harris has said she would “protect and expand” Social Security.

“To fix this problem, House Republicans from the Republican Study Committee introduced a plan in March that would change how the program works. The changes proposed included changing the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy.

“Among its membership, the committee has more than 170 House Republicans, including Timmons and all of South Carolina’s other Republican representatives besides Nancy Mace of the 1st District,” the Post and Courier story reported.

Timmons’ Dem opponent blasts focus of his talk

From Staff Reports

SPARTANBURG, S.C.  â€” After U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-Greenville, addressed a variety of topics — Social Security, unions, childcare, the current presidential election cycle, the troubles Congress faced last year, and his recent visit with global BMW leaders in Munich — during his talk on Aug, 27 here, Kathryn Harvey, his Democratic challenger, held a press conference duriing which she lambasted the incumbent’s focus.

Among her verbal jabs at Timmons, Harvey said  that “he should have spent more time talking about people in the Upstate – and not concentrating on national headlines during his talk,” according to a story in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal on Aug. 27.

“I heard about half an hour of him not talking about people,” the SHJ quoted Harvey as saying of Timmons’ talk. “I heard him talking about national headlines and national issues and national politics and not once truly relating it back to how these issues impact people here in the Upstate. It [was] a constant pivot into a national headline.”

In another shot at her opponent, she also accused Timmons of making it “harder for families to thrive,” the SHJ reported.

During her press conference, Harvey stated “that her campaign was based on supporting smart growth and fighting for working families,” according to the SHJ.

Meanwhile, the Upstate Post and Courier stated in an early September story that, in its assessment, Harvey (who is chair of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party) “is the most serious challenger to William Timmons in years.” 

In a reply to a request from the Daily Planet for a response to Harvey’s criticisms of the congressman’s Aug 27 talk, Timmons emailed the following statement to the newspaper on Sept. 6:

“Elections matter a great deal. South Carolinians are fed up with the failed policies of the Biden-Harris administration. 

“Drug use and crime caused by Kamala Harris’ failed border policies are a disaster. 

“Families in the Upstate are suffering from the effects of Bidenomics at their local grocery store, drug store and at the gas pump. 

“Kathryn Harvey and Kamala Harris only want more of the same. 

“We cannot afford more of their taxing and spending. 

“That is why I believe this is the most consequential federal election of our lifetime and why we must elect Donald Trump and conservative Republicans up and down the ballot.” 

In its story on Timmons’ address, the SHJ noted that “the incumbent in the race for South Carolina's 4th Congressional District, visited Spartanburg Tuesday (Aug. 27) to speak to constituents in the county that won him the Republican primary.”

Timmons' talk on Aug. 27 was part of the Caffeinated Conversations series, which OneSpartanburg Inc. regularly holds.