Obama Promises Bid to Overhaul Retiree Spending

Do you think I made that up? The title given to the January 8, 2009 New York Times article, Obama Promises Bid to Overhaul Retiree Spending evokes a strong emotional response. Sounds drastic. Sounds like a knife through the hearts of not only current retirees, but also those millions approaching retirement age. "Overhaul" most often means cutbacks. What will be the first to go? Medicare prescription drug coverage? Social security cost of living increases? Raising the age requirements in the hope that those who have been taxed the most to support Social Security and Medicare will die before they become eligible? What a relief to the system! Those people are better off dead anyhow, than living to see the turncoat politicians bend them over again and again, aren't they?

But wait. Let's see what the so-called 'liberal' New York Times is saying in this twenty paragraph article. Here are the paragraphs that relate to the "overhaul retiree spending" the headline so boldly proclaims as the article's main thrust:

- President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that overhauling Social Security and Medicare would be “a central part” of his administration’s efforts to contain federal spending, signaling for the first time that he would wade into the thorny politics of entitlement programs.

- Speaking at a news conference in Washington, he provided no details of his approach to rein in Social Security and Medicare, which are projected to consume a growing share of government spending as the baby boom generation ages into retirement over the next two decades. But he said he would have more to say about the issue when he unveiled a budget next month.

- Should he follow through with a serious effort to cut back the rates of growth of the two programs, he would be opening up a potentially risky battle that neither party has shown much stomach for. The programs have proved almost sacrosanct in political terms, even as they threaten to grow so large as to be unsustainable in the long run. President Bush failed in his effort to overhaul Social Security, and Medicare only grew larger during his administration with the addition of prescription drug coverage for retirees.

- Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the senior Republican on the Budget Committee, and his House counterpart, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, said the extensive borrowing by the government could be a disaster if Congressional Democrats and the new Obama administration did not also work on long-term solutions including changes to Social Security and Medicare.

This is the information, contained withing the second quoted paragraph above, that has the greatest relevance: "... he provided no details of his approach to rein in Social Security and Medicare... But he said he would have more to say about the issue when he unveiled a budget next month."

What shoddy journalism! The headline makes strong implications that Obama will drastically cut federal spending for retirees. He may, indeed, do just that. And if that happens, it will be bitterly analyzed right here on this blog. But there is not one scintilla of evidence given in the article, not even a possible set of scenarios provided, that may come forth when Obama announces his budget in February 2009. So what gives? Trying to out-sensationalize the National Inquirer?

I caution you. When right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and, increasingly, Lou Dobbs, froth at the mouth about the liberal, radical, left-wing, drive-by, mainstream media, check and doublecheck what they're saying. Their main target is most often the New York Times. Yet, in the article I discussed here today, the Times may have succeeded in planting seeds of doubt not only about Obama's true agenda, but also about whether he can be trusted. Sounds like what the Rush-Sean-Bill-Lou crowd loves to do. And all before Obama takes the oath of office.

Remember - these right-wing goons will never be satisfied with news outlets that don't march in lockstep with them. Even if they succeed in pushing the 'mainstream' media to the right, it will never be far enough right for them. I urge you all to do your own bitter analysis of everything you read and hear.