The latest New Yorker has an article on Willard by Nicholas Lemann. As usual with the New Yorker, it is a long read. There is some interesting stuff on Romney's Mormonism and on Bain Capital and his attitudes towards business. But the third part, which talks about his political views, is what really impressed me, and not in a good way. Follow me below for one thing that was really offensive.
One part that stood out is Romney quoted saying this:
The President said Medicare is going to be bankrupt in eight to nine years. And we have to fix or reform it. And he's made no proposal whatsoever to do so. I don't know how you can be President of the United States and not say, Well, here's something that will make Medicare work permanently. And here's something that'll fix Social Security permanently.
Well, there is a kernel of truth in there. Projections into the future are inexact, but Medicare and Social Security very likely do have long-term funding issues.
Has the President done nothing about it? Maybe Romney has not heard of the Affordable Care Act, which extends Medicare's solvency?
But what about a permanent fix? Is it is possible to fix both Medicare and Social Security in a way that will preserve current benefits? Yes, it is.
Is it possible to do that given the current makeup of Congress? No. The most direct way to ensure these programs continue to pay out benefits involves raising taxes. And that is a political non-starter for the entire Republican membership of both houses of Congress. So it is really their obstructionism that is in the way of a permanent solution. And you can't fault Obama for failing to do something politically impossible.
The solution for Medicare that Ryan and Romney favor "fixes" its funding issues by raising the eligibility age (leaving 65 year olds in the lurch) and gradually replacing it with a voucher system that would cap the government contribution to healthcare costs, leaving seniors to pay more--probably much more over time, as healthcare inflation is likely to rise faster than voucher amounts. And where is this extra money that seniors have laying around to pay more for healthcare? For most seniors, it just isn't there, so you are going to see more self-rationing, as seniors skip doctor visits and fail to take medications.
So it is dishonest, really, to call this a fix. It is a fix only if you are a bean-counter and you are measuring only government outlays, not healthcare outcomes. It is a fix like financially engineering a bought-out company is a fix, where the only measure is whether it winds up putting money into the buyer's pockets.
Romney also isn't mentioning Medicaid, which is in worse financial shape, and where benefit cuts have even more dire consequences, since you have to be really indigent to qualify.