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Deficit panel leaders' plan curbs Social Security
WASHINGTON (AP) - The leaders of President Barack Obama's bipartisan deficit commission launched a daring assault on mushrooming federal deficits on Wednesday, proposing reducing annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security, gradually raising the retirement age to 69 and taking aim at popular tax breaks such as the mortgage interest deduction.
As part of a proposal to wrestle $1-trillion-plus deficits under control, their plan would also curb the growth of Medicare. It came a week after voters put Republicans back in charge of the House and told Washington that the government is too big.
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Of course, the voters did not tell Washington that "the government is too big". As far as I'm aware, no state had a ballot initiative to stipulate such a message. This was, instead, a bugaboo scurrilously promulgated for media consumption; mud meant to stick to the Democrats thrown by the grand poobahs of the Tea Party and the Republicans. They characterized the vote as an anti-O'BamaCare, anti the Pelosi Demon about to swallow us whole, anti stimulus money and anti anything else they could think of referendum. The American people somehow bought the incessant babble, bought the lies and distortions - and bought a throw the bums out mentality. They spoke out against satanic socialism with renewed fervor.
It only took them 8 days to start the push to raise the retirement age, restrict Social Security spending, curtail cost of living increases, restrict Medicare, keep the Bush Tax cuts, and enact several other measures which might charitably be referred to as "draconian" if only the populace knew what that word means.
Now, it's evident that these "ideas" to cut the deficit won't pass muster - they are simply the first trial balloons sent out. Part of the intention is to have the media repeat these ideas over and over like the chanting of a mantra "Hail Mary full of grace, blessed are thou..." until people get used to the idea. Then watch out.
It is time to begin to prepare ourselves.
