A key element of the political theater surrounding the debt ceiling debate back in the spring was the agreement between the two major parties not to talk about entitlement reform.
No cuts. No tweaks. Not even a blue ribbon panel of experts in sight.
The reasons were entirely political: talking about even modest reforms of Social Security and Medicare bring down the wrath of voters who get those checks. And it will feed the political consultants all they need to produce ads about how candidate X wants to throw grandma off a cliff. It's cynical, irrational and extremely effective. (RELATED: Car Commercial Becomes An Instant Classic)
Which makes the tentative murmurs emerging from some Republican presidential campaigns about the possibility of perhaps discussing entitlement reforms โ but only for future generations โ count as something just this side of radical. According to The Washington Post:
โฆFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Social Security will need to be revamped โ but not for people who are near or in retirement.
Former vice president Mike Pence and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley have taken similar positions since launching their presidential campaigns.
Good for them. They are at least attempting to treat the issue seriously. As for the GOP frontrunnerโฆ.
From the earliest days of his 2016 run, Trump has vowed not to touch either Social Security or Medicare โ a break from GOP orthodoxy that has shifted the party's views โ and has more recently hammered DeSantis for wanting to cut the program.
Setting aside the Post's assertion about โGOP orthodoxyโ on entitlements (there is no such thing ) it would be helpful if more candidates in both major parties treated voters like adults capable of engaging difficult issues like entitlement reform than the preferred method: treating voters like mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed a steady diet ofโฆmanure).
But candidates and their handlers aren't in the business of being helpful. They are in the business of motivating people to get out and vote. And if that means stampeding them with fears that their Social Security checks might be cut, so be it. (RELATED: In Extraordinary Times, Republicans Must Embrace Extreme Tactics Or Lose)
And as for candidatesโฆnone of them wants to relive what happened to the late Rep. Dan Rostenkowski back in the 1980s when a gaggle of angry seniors let him have it in a Chicago area parking lot. The source of their ire: the possibility they might have to pay higher Medicare premiums to support greatly expanded benefits.
That was a long time ago. But the lesson โ reinforced with videotape of the event โ remains as powerful as ever among members of the political class.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions ofย American Liberty News.
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6 Comments
Time to cut (end) welfare, corporate welfare, and foreign aid for dictators and terrorists.And cut payments to the damn UN.
And absolutely no deals with Iran..
I have disagreed with you on Social Security before, but I do think that Pence had a proposal worth looking at. He indicated that nobody above 40 years of age would be affected, and any affect that would be borne by those 40 and younger could be offset by allowing them more latitude with their investment choices for the FICA taxes they pay (he mentioned a program available to government employees as one option).
In the long term, the ONLY viable option is to completely eliminate ANY government involvement in retirement saving. Make it clear individuals WON’T be able to retire unless they provide for their retirement ON THEIR OWN.
I don’t claim to have a transition plan for those that spent most of their life beliving the FALSE promise they would be able to retire based on plans set up by the government. I only know that NO such plan ever was, or ever will be, sustainable.
that proposal existed long before pence but the outcome was, is and will be the same. dems and their cheerleaders in the media will spew the same rhetoric republicans want to cut SS and medicare. while at the same time they have not proposed or submitted any legislation to shore up the system for current or future SS recipients.
CUT Medicare & SS DC Hq overhead alone can Help
Automate
Streamline programs