joining me now is nancy altman, author of "the battle for social security."re. >> thanks for having me. >> are republicans calling wolf on how this will ruin america? >> absolutely. they are trying to scare the american people. that's what they were doing back in the '30s and '60s and now. some of the attacks are the same. the republicans used to say that social security's reserves which by the way are $2.7 trillion today were çious. they said you'd pay and pay and never see benefits. some same attacks today. they said about medicare there'd be a bureaucrat between the doctor and the patient. that's what they said about the affordable care act. the important message from today -- from yesterday's decision is that the -- that is only a skirmish in a battle. we have to stay vigilant about all these programs which are so important. our social security system, our medical medicare and the affordable care act. >> and part of the vigilance is seeing how the debate is cast and what is discussed. you wrote in an op ed piece in 2009 in "the l.a. times." you said then