(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Rep. Michele Bachmann isn't quite so crazy as to suggest that
current Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries be thrown to the winds. After all, she wants those older voters to turn out for her. But the rest of America? You're
going to be on your own when it comes retirement time.
Representative Michele Bachmann said she would cut Social Security and Medicare benefits for all but current recipients as part of a broader effort to reduce the federal deficit.
"We will reform the entitlement programs now, not five years from now, not 26 years from now, now," Bachmann said on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al Hunt" airing this weekend. "Anyone who is not yet on those programs, we are going to change them."[...]
Bachmann said Social Security and Medicare spending should be reined in with reductions through means testing or eligibility age. "We all know it needs to be done," she said.
I'm sure Bachmann doesn't care about the nuances of this whole government thing, but for those who do, and for the millionth time, Social Security does not and has never contributed to the deficit.
Of course, Bachmann voted for the Ryan budget to kill Medicare, which cynically grandfathers anyone 55 or older into the existing program. After all, how many teabaggers fit that demographic? Take their Medicare away, and maybe they won't be such enthusiastic supporters anymore. Meanwhile, she raised her hand to opposing an even 10-1 deficit deal on spending and taxes.
Balancing the budget on the backs of working Americans. How very Christian of her.