President Obama already caved on tax cuts, and next up is Social Security, writes Robert Kuttner on the Huffington Post. The tax cut deal will increase the deficit by some $900 billion—offering more leverage to deficit hawks and “adding to the artificial hysteria that Social Security is going broke.” And Obama’s deficit commission is already calling for raising the retirement age, creating the “blueprint” for disaster.
Obama has “signaled” to congressional Democrats that Social Security cuts could be “part of a grand deficit-reduction deal,” writes Kuttner. Meanwhile, right-wing pundits are encouraging the president in “a very cute game,” suggesting he was victorious on tax cuts. A tougher president would have pledged before the midterms never to cut Social Security. Obama instead appointed a commission ready to “cut the Democrats' signature program.” The Dems’ “civil war” is set to “deepen,” Kuttner concludes.
(More Social Security stories.)
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