Try to make sense of this turd of CW from Politico's Mike Allen:
The virtue of action on Social Security is that it demonstrates the ability to begin to affect the long-run deficits. Social Security isn’t the biggest contributor to the problem – that’s still health-care costs. But ti could help a little bit, buy time, and strengthens the odds of a political consensus behind other spending cuts or tax increases. Most importantly, it would establish more CREDIBILITY with the MARKETS. The mood of the world at the moment (slightly excessive, from the administration’s point of view) is that if you don’t do anything with spending cuts, it doesn’t get you credibility.
Social Security doesn't contribute to deficit. And will be solvent until at least the year 2037 without any modifications to benefits, according to the Social Security trustees. After that, any shortfalls can be plugged by a variety of fixes, such as eliminating the cap on wages taxed by Social Security, so that the wealthy pay their fare share into the system.
On the other hand, health care costs contribute to the deficit NOW. So why not do something about that instead, by, you know, passing deficit-reducing measures like the public option? Ahh, but that wouldn't establish CREDIBILITY with the MARKETS, because apparently, they like spending cuts. You see, that leads to peace and prosperity. Just like in Greece!
The austerity measures that were supposed to fix Greece's problems are dragging down the country's economy. Stores are closing, tax revenues are falling and unemployment has hit an unbelievable 70 percent in some places. Frustrated workers are threatening to strike back.
I'm sure there's nothing the MARKETS would love more than a full-blown depression?
But nah, cut Social Security, because that would help make markets "a little bit" happier, and ponies would magically appear and suddenly, there'd be "political consensus behind other spending cuts or tax increases".
You want to cut the long-term deficit? Then trim the major factors contributing to the deficit (like health care costs) and improve the economy (stimilus) so people get back to work and tax receipts increase.