Man of the Day

In this poisoned political environment,I welcome any politician that can tell the truth simply. In April, the House Republicans promise to deliver their own versions of cuts to entitlement programs. For them,the drivers of the national debt are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. So far only libertarians like Ron Paul have raised the gorilla in the room--national security spending.

People like Bernie Sanders have been out front in warning of the attacks on these programs. But one issue doesn't deserve to be in this mix--Social Security. For the past two days,Harry Reid has made it explicit that with all the problems in this country right now social security is not one of them.

Our person of the day is Harry Reid.

Harry Reid basically told reporters that he would be glad to talk about changes in Social Security in twenty years. He pointed out that Social Security unchanged will be paying out 100% of benefits for the next 37 years and then would be down to 80%. In other words,my budget will be tighter when I'm 98. That's if we do nothing.

Reid emphatically said repeatedly that Social Security does not contribute a dime to the national debt.

Lawrence O'Donnell had the longest interview with Reid and was like a dog on a bone trying to get Reid to say what changes he would support. Reid refused to take the bait. Asked whether he supported raising the age of retirement, he said the system should stay the way it was. Asked whether he agreed with the President on changing the way the cost-of-living adjustments are made, he said that he disagreed with President Obama on this because it was unnecessary. Asked whether Social Security should remain self-financing or some other configuration, he didn't budge--it should stay the way it was.

Harry Reid said if it ain't broke, don't fix it. He asserted that Social Security was one of the most successful programs in the history of the world. He's right.

Harry Reid said that with time we will know what should be done to change it. But right now we don't because of the current situation and we haven't seen events unfold which will give us a clue. I humbly interpret his remarks on the current situation to mean the presence of an opposition party that has lost its mind.

Soft-spoken to the point of irritation, Harry Reid just would not budge. And the most important thing is that what he said was true. Any talk about Social Security is a red herring. It has nothing to do with anything but the ideological dreams of the extreme right.

I'm several years away from Social Security but recent talk causes real anxiety because of all the other radical changes people are suggesting. If this chatter makes me nervous, can you imagine how it affects seniors who already receive social security?

I agree with Harry Reid that we do not know what the demographics of the country will look like, the economy, the life-span and other key factors to make a serious decision about a program some 40 years out.

I will bet you the House will debate privatizing Social Security,an initiative advanced by George W and which cost the Republicans control of Congress. But the New Republicans are more radical and foolhardy--scary,heh?

Remember the House Republicans have already cut personnel for the Social Security Administration. They are committed to demonstrate that it is failing to provide services. But the alliances built to fight for social security are formidable. The irony is that the Republicans might lose the last demographic they now control--the seniors.