Obama budget: Why entitlement cuts are a 'grand bargain' we don't need
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Robert Reich Guest blogger
John Boehner, Speaker of the House, revealed why it鈥檚 politically naive for the President to offer up cuts in Social Security in the hope of getting Republicans to close some tax loopholes for the rich. 鈥淚f the President believes these modest entitlement savings are needed to help shore up these programs, there鈥檚 no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes,鈥� Boehner said in a听听released Friday.听
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor agreed. He听听辞苍 CNBC he didn鈥檛 understand 鈥渨hy we just don鈥檛 see the White House come forward and do the things that we agree on鈥� such as cutting Social Security, without additional tax increases.
Get it? The Republican leadership is already salivating over the President鈥檚 proposed Social Security cut. They鈥檝e been wanting to cut Social Security for years.听听
But they won鈥檛 agree to close tax loopholes for the rich.听
They鈥檙e already characterizing the President鈥檚 plan as a way to 鈥渟ave鈥� Social Security 鈥� even though the cuts would undermine it 鈥� and they鈥檙e embracing it as an act of 鈥渂i-partisanship.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 encouraged by any steps that President Obama is taking to save and preserve Social Security,鈥澨�Texas Republican firebrand Ted Cruz. 鈥淚 think it should be a bipartisan priority to strengthen Social Security and Medicare to preserve the benefits for existing seniors.鈥澨�
Oh, please. Social Security hasn鈥檛 contributed to the budget deficit. And it鈥檚 solvent for the next two decades. (If we want to insure its solvency beyond that, the best fix is to lift the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes 鈥� now $113,700.)
And the day Ted Cruz agrees to raise taxes on the wealthy or even close a tax loophole will be when Texas freezes over.
The President is scheduled to dine with a dozen Senate Republicans Wednesday night. Among those attending will be John Boozman of Arkansas, who has already听听Obama for听 鈥渟tarting to throw things on the table,鈥� like the Social Security cuts.听
That鈥檚 exactly the problem.听The President throws things on the table before the Republicans have even sat down for dinner.听
The President鈥檚 predilection for negotiating with himself is not new. But his willingness to do it with Social Security, the government鈥檚 most popular program听听鈥� which Democrats have protected from Republican assaults for almost eighty years 鈥� doesn鈥檛 bode well.听
The President desperately wants a 鈥済rand bargain鈥� on the deficit. Republicans know he does. Watch your wallets.听听
