John Boehner, Speaker of the House, revealed why it's politically naive for the president to offer up cuts in Social Security in the hope of getting Republicans to close some tax loopholes for the rich. "If the president believes these modest entitlement savings are needed to help shore up these programs, there's no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes," Boehner said in a statement released Friday.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor agreed. He said on CNBC he didn't understand "why we just don't see the White House come forward and do the things that we agree on" such as cutting Social Security, without additional tax increases....
"I'm encouraged by any steps that President Obama is taking to save and preserve Social Security," cooed Texas Republican firebrand Ted Cruz. "I think it should be a bipartisan priority to strengthen Social Security and Medicare to preserve the benefits for existing seniors."...
They're already characterizing the president's plan as a way to "save" Social Security -- even though the cuts would undermine it -- and they're embracing it as an act of "bi-partisanship."
AlterNet
Republicans Have Drooled Over the Idea of Slashing Social Security for Years, and They've Found Their Ideal Partner in Obama
Robert Reich | Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, and Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration
