Sen. Dick Durbin (John Gress/Reuters)
It's hard to imagine why any Democrat who finds they are in agreement with Joe Lieberman, whose sole purpose in political life is now to piss on anything remotely progressive or important to the Democratic base, particularly on something as important as Social Security. But,
there you have it.
Several Democratic senators are separating themselves from their leadership and encouraging President Obama to cut Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age in order to keep the entitlement solvent.
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen.Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who caucuses with the Democrats, are all openly calling for reform, and making it plain that the party is disunited on the issue when a titanic debate over debt is gathering momentum....
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a member of the Gang of Six, a bipartisan group negotiating a deficit reduction package, said Democrats must be willing to give ground on adjustments to Social Security retirement benefits.
“You’ve got to be willing to put everything on the table,” he told The Hill recently.
And nothing says party disunity like Joe Lieberman. Carper uses one of the most disingenuous and irrelevant arguments there is: “My sons are 21 and 22; neither of them thinks Social Security is around for them. I want to make sure that it is." So we create a self-fulfilling prophecy, start chipping away at it now so it won't be around in forty-five years?
These Senators are all easy enough to dismiss, none of them being real drivers of policy or with an ability to sway the whole caucus, or Majority Leader Harry Reid, who remains adamantly opposed to any kind of Social Security cut. However, and it's a big however, now Sen. Dick Durbin is lining up with the "reformers," though has yet to get into specifics of what kind of action on the program he supports.
Social Security reform and boosting government revenues are among the provisions that could be included in a deficit-reduction package being negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators.
The so-called “Gang of Six” is expected to unveil its proposals after the congressional Easter break, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, told reporters at a breakfast meeting hosted by Bloomberg News....
Durbin said he’s told the Republicans participating in the discussions that “my job in the Democratic caucus is a lot of easier if Social Security isn’t in there. And they’ve told me, ‘Our job in the Republican caucus is a lot easier if revenue isn’t in there.’ So, here we are.”
Ryan gave Social Security only passing attention in his House budget proposal, and advocates for the retirement program are pressing to separate it from the debate, noting that while it may need some reform it, doesn’t add to the deficit.
But Durbin, a staunch supporter of Social Security, said putting the program on sounder financial footing now “is a lot easier” than waiting until it is nearly broke in 26 years....
He said he’s been convinced, however, that action is vital, and he’s urged progressive allies to consider their priorities in light of today’s fiscal realities.
“This is serious. If we don’t do something and do it quickly, bad things can happen, in a hurry,” he said.
Of course, it won't be "nearly broke" in 26 years. With no intervention in the next quarter century, it would still pay out 75% of benefits beginning in 2038. Quick action on Social Security isn't vital to the program's survival, although lifting the payroll tax cap now would certainly provide a big boost the program, now and for the next 75 years of the program. Durbin, as the chief ally of Obama and a supporter of the catfood commission among the Dems, is a more serious force to contend with when it comes to holding a tough line on Social Security cuts.