A broad coalition of groups has been formed to defend Social Security, and the videos announcing it are all worth watching. Of all the ideas proposed, my personal favorite comes from AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee: A new reality show starring the people who want to cut Social Security. He suggests having John Boehner, billionaire benefit-cut advocate Peter G. Peterson, and Deficit Commission chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles live for a year on the average Social Security benefit of $14,000.
\”They won\’t get a COLA (cost of living increase,\” says McEntee, \”but they\’ll still have to deduct $100 a month for Medicare Part B and still have to pay $200 a month for Medigap insurance.\” (The video of his comments is below.)
Great idea, Mr. McEntee! Mr. Peterson should be more than happy to take you up on your offer. He likes games, having funded one called \”Deficitball.\”(1) Alan Simpson seems like a playful sort of fellow, too. It sounds a lot like I\’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, where the famous and well-to-do are dropped in a jungle and forced to do icky things like eat bugs and snakes. But in this case the jungles will be our own cities and towns and contestants are more likely to eat Purina than piranha.
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