A Plea to Republicans For Common Sense Debt Reduction

To: Speaker Boehner, Sen. McConnell, Rep. Cantor and Rep. Ryan:

As your constituent and a strong supporter of America's seniors and children, I am writing because I strongly disagree with deficit reduction proposals being put forth by the Republican leadership that would cut billions of dollars from Medicaid and shift the cost of Medicare onto seniors and the disabled.

AARP's Misguided Stance on Social Security

Why is AARP giving in to radicals who are trying to trash Social Security? Cutting benefits or raising the retirement age will do absolutely nothing about the national debt. Cuts to Social Security may appear to lower deficits, but that is only because the US Treasury Bonds held by Social Security are not counted when they are bought (because Social Security and the Treasury are departments of the same government). In a year where more in benefits is paid out than is collected from Social Security payroll taxes, bonds held in the Trust Fund are cashed, and the Treasury has money going out of it to pay those bonds. In effect, deficits are moved from the year that they were created to some future year when the bonds are cashed.

The Debate: Thoughts on Bachmann, Pawlenty, and Blaming the Economy on Dems

Why would the Dems be blamed for the GOP obstructionism? The Republicans in the Senate spent most of 2009-2010 saying "NO" (400 plus House-passed bills never even made it to the floor because of threats of a filibuster). The Affordable Health Care Act only got passed because the Senate Democrats passed it as a reconciliation bill, which needs only 51 votes and of which there can be only one per year (thus explaining why such a bad deal was made in December in order to extend unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans).

The Age of Greed

"The shaky U.S. economy...is a major liability for President Barack Obama"? Senate Republicans spent 2009-2010 saying "no" to almost every piece of legislation, threatening filibusters by their 41 members. Then, in the last election, they blamed Obama for the state of the economy, even though the 2009 deficit was already projected to be $1 trillion before Obama even took office. Republicans have opposed any efforts to increase revenues, preferring instead to blame the high debt on spending on social programs.

The Right's Blame Game

Continuing to blame the national debt and the huge deficits on Obama, on social spending, on government regulations and oversight and environmental policies, on high taxes on the wealthy and other "job creators," and on mythical freeloaders of a welfare state, is partisan politics with no basis in reality.