by Damozel | Brokaw said last night during the Obama/McCain that Social Security is going broke---as in "imminently"--- and framed a whole question to the candidates around the assumption.
“Would you give Congress a date certain to reform Social Security and Medicare within two years after you take office? Because in a bipartisan way, everyone agrees, that's a big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more than the mortgage crisis.” (CNS)
Via rdan at Angry Bear, this post by Dean Baker at Beat the Press.
[R]eporters can freely impugn the financial health of a government program like Social Security because a government program cannot sue for libel. Those who are interested in learning about the true state of Social Security's financial health can find out by looking at the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office's website.
Here are some other reactions:
It was a low moment for Brokaw, one of the lowest I can ever remember for him. He seemed to me to be simply spouting a ludicrous cliche he's heard or read (WaPo for example). It was as bad as Charlie Gibson's assertions, as a "moderator," regarding capital gains taxes. I only regret that Obama did not seize the opportunity to: (1) call out Brokaw's misinformation; and (2) note what would be happening to a "privatized" social security --- which McCain has long supported --- in the current economic crisis. (BTP commenter EconDumbo)
See generally Angry Bear's Bruce Webb on the topic of Social Security. Webb recently remarked:
In relatively normal economic times Social Security 'crisis' is an opportunity for the economic right to score points on Social Democrats, they get to wave their arms in the air and shout "Magic of Markets!!" "Equity Premium!!" "Ownership Society!!!!". This message doesn't sell too well in the middle of a series of market failures that is requiring massive federal intervention and takeover of premier financial institutions all while people are watching both their home equity and the value of their 401k's melt away.
Which is to say there probably is not a single person out there thinking "Gee if my Social Security was only being professionally managed by Lehman Brothers and mostly invested in an annuity through AIG I sure would be sleeping better at night". I don't mind kicking privatizers in the ribs while they are down, I just don't think they will even show up for the fight for the next few months. (Bruce Webb)
Webb's got a whole blog devoted to the politics of Social Security.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin---who is, I think we know, not someone whose advice you'd listen to on financial matters, if anything---has been accusing Obama of trying to spread fear and panic about McCain's plans for Social Security (and in fact, he has misstated McCain's position, according to FactCheck.org). But Palin's non-Obama-slanging comments were, like everythingn she says, curiously lacking in detail.
Palin did not detail exactly how McCain's Social Security reforms would work in the speech beyond saying he would not change it for people who are already retired. Obama aides noted that McCain has committed to cutting spending on Medicare and Medicaid by more than $1 trillion. The Arizona senator has not detailed how those programs would still offer health insurance to the elderly and the poor under those cuts.
The Alaska governor also accused Obama of misleading Americans about McCain's health care plan, but offered an inaccurate explanation, saying "every middle class American family will have a five thousand dollar credit, tax credit, to buy the health care coverage that you choose and Barack Obama is calling that a tax." McCain's proposal would tax the health benefits Americans now receive through their employers, which Obama has noted over the last few days. For most Americans, McCain's tax credit will offset the increased tax, so the cost of their health insurance would not go up.
"Our health care plan will give millions of middle class Americans access to better health care without costing them a dime," Palin said.
She said Obama's health care plan put "expensive mandates on small businesses." Small businesses are in fact exempted from the mandates in Obama's health care plan, which require large employers to either offer insurance to their employees or pay a tax. (The Trail)
Get more on Dean Baker's criticism of Brokaw here.
NB. Greg Mitchell comments on Brokaw's performance at HuffPost, which: yeah. Some of those commenters think the reason that the "domestic policy debate" turned into a discussion of foreign policy was due to Brokaw's desire to help McCain, his old pal. Huh.
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The worst part of that was when he said that everyone agrees. Maddening. (BTP commenter eRobin)
I wrote to NBC last night in re Brokaw's despicable transgression of journalistic standards demanding that he be fired forthwith. (Angry Bear, commenter Ken Melvin)