Fight them.

Editor,

A.) Social Security does not contribute one penny to the national debt. It is funded entirely by payroll contributions, is enjoined by law from borrowing money, and is fully funded for the next 27 years (after which time any shortfall can be eliminated by adjusting the salary cap on contributions so that rich people -- oh, them again -- contribute to it fairly).

B.) Republican hypocrisy is palpable. Not only have their policies of eliminating taxes on the rich, deregulating big business, and privatizing every government service imaginable been proved over and over again -- by having implemented them -- not to "create jobs," but it was also the Republicans who inherited a budget surplus from Bill Clinton, squandered it on tax cuts for the rich, ran up a huge deficit waging unnecessary and unfunded wars, and bailed out their pals on Wall Street to the tune of at least %1.5 trillion.

C.) Barack Obama has no idea how to negotiate with relentless reactionaries and is going to try to give a way the store. The only chance we have of saving Social Security and Medicare is for Democratic lawmakers to reject any debt-ceiling bill that includes cuts to these. Yes, workers will lose plenty if the debt ceiling is not raised, but the rich -- finally -- will lose far more. Here is where there actually does exist an opportunity to pitch battle against the forces of economic destruction in this country and fight them with weapons they understand: the number of zeros on the bottom lines of their portfolios.

Re: "Presidential Candidates Warn About Debt Deal" (7/10/2011)