December 17, 2012
For some reason the Washington Post has a hard time accurately reporting the nature of the budget discussions between President Obama and Speaker Boehner. It told readers today:
“In exchange for the higher rates for millionaires, Boehner is demanding changes to federal health and retirement programs, which are projected to be the biggest drivers of future federal borrowing.”
Of course Boehner is not looking for random “changes” to these programs, he is looking for “cuts” in the programs. While the next sentence points out that Boehner is seeking “savings” from these programs, there is no reason to obscure what is at issue by using “changes.”
It is also worth noting that under the law, Social Security cannot contribute to the deficit. It was set up by Congress as a stand alone program that can only spend money from its designated revenue stream. All official budget documents show the “on-budget” deficit which excludes revenue and spending from Social Security.
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