When things are going right in life, there is a rhythm that tells the soul that all is well. Talented musicians will tell you there is nothing better than playing with a group that is all in sync.
President Obama's budget proposal put forth earlier this week strikes a discordant note. In fact, it almost sets up a scenario for generational warfare.
For in its desperation to protect programs for seniors, it slashes defense and discretionary domestic spending to the bone. It ignores previous pledges to address the deficit crisis and the burgeoning national debt.
In fact, it proposes to increase the national debt $1 trillion more over the next decade than promises made just a few months ago.
It completely ignores the coming crises in Social Security and Medicare.
The sad part is, those programs could be protected if the president had just done what predecessors like Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill had agreed to - push the retirement age back a few years for the folks who are now looking at an 85-year-old age span. If you are in your 50s, you should work until you are 70.
There also needs to be means testing for Medicare. The well-off have to pay for more of their medical care.
The president didn't even address the problems. We have demagoguing about taxing the rich. Don't just tax those folks, redo the bazillion-page tax code and get rid of all the unwarranted personal interest tax breaks!
Social Security wasn't originally crafted for people living 20 or 30 years past retirement. Medicare drafters didn't envision $120,000 for a pacemaker or joint replacements that cost more than an annual pay for recipients.
The band is out of tune. Everyone would like to have access to unlimited pensions and medical care. But somebody has to pay for it.
It would appear the president is content to let young working people take on larger and larger shares of that cost indefinitely.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.
