Rick Perry Begins Social Security Walk-Back
Since the last Republican debate on Wednesday evening, Rick Perry has been getting pounded, first by Romney and now Bachmann, over his description of Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.” In the grand tradition of snake-oil salesman throughout history, Perry has decided to rebrand himself as now standing for “entitlement reform”:
Rick Perry: I am going to be honest with the American people
The first step to fixing a problem is honestly admitting there is a problem. America’s goal must be to fix Social Security by making it more financially sound and sustainable for the long term. But Americans deserve a frank and honest discussion of the dire financial challenges facing the nearly 80-year-old program.
As I said at the Reagan Library recently, Social Security benefits for current recipients and those nearing retirement must be protected. For younger workers, we must consider reforms to make Social Security financially viable.
This should come as no shock to the politically savvy, who have seen this tactic become a favorite of politicians throughout recent history: Slowly crippling a program through “reform” after “reform,” before finally using public frustration over an increasingly broken program to finally put it out of its misery. Fittingly enough, FDR foresaw this attack to Social Security, alongside other programs he championed as measures to fight the Great Depression, 75 years ago: