No cuts to Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustments!

In November, President Obama implied that Social Security cuts were "off the table" in the fiscal cliff discussions. So what do we hear in Mid-December? Namely, that the president has offered up reductions in Social Security's annual Cost Of Living Adjustments as a sacrificial offering to John Boehner and the rest of Congress's austerity-mongers. My response to that is "No Way." This is not why I voted for Barack Obama last month. We must not tolerate any effort to reduce deficits by harming seniors and the disabled. We should definitely tax the wealthy at a higher rate, in order to increase revenue. But Social Security is a retirement insurance program into which millions have already paid their fair share. And it has a $2.7 trillion surplus in its trust fund. No attempt to rip off seniors and the disabled should go unchallenged. Indeed, no such attempt would be entertained by people interested in promoting a just society. While we're at it, let's endeavor to keep Wall Street's greedy hands off of Medicare and Medicaid. I cannot accept the idea that these two highly successful programs might be privatized or otherwise harmed. Neither should President Obama be comfortable with such a notion.