There’s a chorus of calls from Democrats, like Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown, telling us that Seniors shouldn’t be held liable for Washington’s overspending. They insist that there shouldn’t be any significant changes in the Medicare or Social Security programs. But many of these same Democrats have been voting against any significant efforts to control spending as long as they have been in Congress.
Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown is a good example. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1992. At that time the budget included spending of less than $1.4 trillion and debt of $4.0 trillion. We are expected to have $3.8 trillion in spending and close to $15 trillion in debt by the end of fiscal year 2011. Where have his consistent protestations and concrete suggestions regarding solutions been? I don’t remember them.
Sen. Reid and Durbin, the Democrats top two leaders of the U.S. Senate, are better examples. They were first elected to Congress (the House) in 1982. We had an annual budget of $0.7 trillion and debt of only $1.1 trillion that year. They voted against the BBA in 1997 and have consistently voted against any attempt to roll back any part of President Clinton’s call for a “temporary sacrifice” by the wealthy back in 1993!
But even worse has been how the two of them have denounced any effort to create a solution for Washington’s over spending. They each have told us to leave Social Security alone. They’ve told us Social Security isn’t part of the budget, doesn’t add to our deficit and is solvent for at least 20 years. But I’m confused. If what they are telling us is true, how is it that President Obama isn’t sure that seniors can get their checks UNLESS the debt ceiling is raised? It turns out Social Security is in the budget. It is projected to add $1 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years (and that estimate understates the problem). In addition, Social Security can only meet all of its obligations each year if the IOUs it holds in its trust fund can be paid off as part of the normal budget. A balanced budget would go a long way in ensuring that happens.
The truth is that someone has to pay for Washington’s over spending. The mere fact that we have debt means we have to pay for our current spending PLUS pay for the debt service on the overspending that Congress has done in the past. If it’s not seniors who pay for it, then who should it be? After all didn’t seniors, as a group, help elect the Congresses and Presidents who ran up the debt? So why isn’t it appropriate that seniors take some responsibility for ensuring the situation is resolved? Non-seniors, even those unborn today, will be required to pay off the rest at some point in time.
