Joe Biden’s guarantee on Social Security

Update below August 25

A few days ago I committed to not voting for Barack Obama if he didn’t publicly proclaim he’d reject any cut to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.

Obama and most mainstream Democrats have clearly positioned themselves with the Bowles Simpson / “adult conversation” crowd, and Republican intransigence on taxes is the only reason benefits haven’t already been cut.

Well, as if in answer to my post / letter, Joe Biden made a seemingly forthright guarantee on one of these three critical programs: “Number one, I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security.”

That seems to be progress.  How about Medicare and Medicaid, Joe?  And even more importantly, where’s Obama?  Something’s clearly going on between Biden and Obama or more precisely between a faction slightly left of the Third Way crowd and the Third Way.  The exact same dynamic happened just a few months ago with gay marriage and Obama was forced to move left on the issue.

True to form, the Obama White House is sticking with its ever so standard mealy mouthed betrayal of the majority.  According to the Washington Post, “White House officials said that Mr. Biden’s ‘flat guarantee’ was not meant to convey a change in administration position, which they said is best understood from Mr. Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address, which called for ‘a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations’.”

What the hell does that mean?  A “bipartisan solution” of course can only mean cuts to Social Security and that’s exactly what Obama’s “bipartisan” commission recommended.  If that’s your policy Barack, then say it!  And quit your phony, misleading, Orwellian pretensions to populism.

What a fraud this man of “hope and change” has proven to be.  I continue to suggest to all readers that they consider writing a brief email to the White House and commit to withholding their vote unless a firm guarantee on these programs is made.   Isn’t it way past time the people of the United States institute an “adult conversation” with their so called representatives?  The White House site is here.

Update August 25

Obama gave an interview today (see here) and said he’s “prepared to make a whole range of compromises”.  And how about this recent morsel from the New York Times: “(Obama) particularly believes that Democrats do not receive enough credit for their willingness to accept cuts in Medicare and Social Security.”

The whole thing’s a joke, a massive con game.  There’s no important difference between the White House, Congress, the press, Wall Street, and Big Business.  They’re all just subdivisions of the oligarchy.  Obama’s a fraud, of course, but the whole damn system is.