> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of J.D. Giorgis
[snip]
> The Democrats have recently been making a great deal
> of political hay about the diminishing surplus in the
> United States. They are apparently deeply concerned
> that the United States might have to spend the Social
> Security and Medicare surpluses on domestic programs,
> rather than using that money for debt reduction.
>
> Next time, you hear that feel free to laugh out loud.
I'm not laughing because this is another misrepresentation of what is
actually going on. It's not the Democrats who are deeply concerned, it's
the Republicans who promised not to touch Medicare, as the Washington Post
reported.
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32181-2001Jul21.html
> So, not only do we have Democrats raiding the Social
> Security and Medicare lockboxes (as they love to put
> it), but we have them doing it to hurt poor people.
>
> Good grief.
>
> JDG
Yeah, good grief -- that you would have us believe this baloney. Democrats
have pointed out that because government revenue has fallen, even as tax
rebate checks go out, the federal government may be *forced* to use Medicare
and Social Security revenues for other purposes. Only the tax rebate was
done by choice, no one in either party chose the economic slowdown that
reduced the revenue.
Nevertheless, the same Post article also point out that it's not really any
big deal that Medicare and Social Security revenues might go to government
operations, since they're funded by bonds, which are paid for in the
national debt... and as long as we're paying down the debt, we're not
raiding either one.
Once again, this is not about substantive policy issues, but about political
power in Washington. As the Post wrote, "Politically, however, it may prove
embarrassing to Republicans because many GOP lawmakers had supported efforts
not to use Medicare funds for spending." Thus, JDG's message presented the
story absolutely backwards.
Nick
