This news is only important if you are older or planning on getting older. The first cracks in the Social Security and Medicare dike are beginning to show but in an odd turn of events the supposedly independent trustees for Social Security are now saying that part of the problem is rising health care costs. (Click Here for Story)
It might be a bit paranoid to think that the Obama administration is attempting to put some sort of spin on this bad news to direct it to some extent towards "health care reform" and try and point the conversation towards that, as opposed to how did Social Security get in this mess to begin with?
Part of the problem is something we have discussed before and that is the enlargement of the population served by Social Security and Medicare. Long ago that the Liberals found that if they control the definition of words or what persons are covered by popular programs they can work in more traditional welfare systems than would be acceptable if they were properly labeled.
As a voting bloc seniors can then be manipulated to fight against any changes to the Social Security system thinking it somehow will affect their benefits and in an ironic way it will -- if changes are not made to the system seniors will eventually have their benefits reduced.
Incidentally, changes to Medicare under the Obama/Pelosi plan will by necessity have to impose more limitations on benefits and those entitled to receive them.
