Real Entitlement Reform: 4 Steps to Cut Billions from the Budget Without Hurting the Safety Net

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.workingamerica.org/2013/01/31/real-entitlement-reform-how-to-cut-billions-from-the-budget-without-hurting-the-safety-net-in/

You can’t throw a stone in Washington, DC without hitting one of what Paul Krugman calls the Very Serious People (VSPs): self-described “moderates” who are very “gravely concerned” about our country’s fiscal situation.

These VSPs say the main thing we need to do is “get serious” about “entitlement reform” and “tax reform.” Pro tip: When they say “entitlement reform,” they mean cutting Social Security benefits and shifting costs to Medicare beneficiaries. Don’t be fooled. We don’t get these benefits because we feel “entitled,” we get them because we pay for them our whole lives through payroll deductions. It’s like sneering at someone with a movie ticket and saying they feel “entitled” to see the movie, or berating a mother because she feels “entitled” to the groceries she just purchased. When someone turns 65 and receives SS benefits and health insurance through Medicare, it’s because they earned it. It’s because they paid for it.

But the Very Serious People are right about one thing: there are “entitlements” in our budget – and they fit much closer to what that word actually means. We’re spending money on benefits for individuals and corporations who expect payments for absolutely no logical reason. And when you suggest taking them away, they react with horror and indignation that taxpayers shouldn’t shower them with free money. Very “entitled” indeed!

If there’s a Very Serious Person in your life, send this over to them. They’ll love it. Here are 4 quick steps to real “entitlement reform” that doesn’t cut the earned benefits of Social Security and Medicare.

FULL story at link.

[abelenkpe]

1. K&R nt

[corkhead]

2. 4 steps: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines

we don't need a military that is 1/2 the size that it is.

[corkhead]

3. edit to add:

"It's a great, great start!"

[freshwest]

4. K&R. Sneering, huh? They need to watch out, their faces will get stuck that way!

[Mnemosyne]

5. My sister's face did get stuck that way! It happens! nt

[toby jo]

6. I don't know about this, Krugman.

According to the guys at work, it's 'bubba and chico be stealin' from us' .

Maybe if you tried drooling, dragging your knuckles, and making tight circles to the right, you'd see it their way and quit with this 'reasoning' shit.

[DogPawsBiscuitsNGrav]

7. Absolutely 100 percent agree! Why is social security even on the table?

[Omaha Steve]

8. Kick

To the weekend crowd.

[hay rick]

9. K&R