Senator Portman (R-Ohio) can be a reasonable person at times. In his WSJ op-ed today, he discusses the need for Entitlement Reform. On this point, he is absolutely correct. His prescription includes adjusting retirement ages for both Social Security and Medicare, means testing Social Security and Medicare, and supporting patient-controlled health care.
This is all well and good if you campaign on all this and get a mandate from the voters to make such changes. But instead both the Democrats and the Republicans campaign on the basis the other party is suggesting making changes that harm social security and medicare. You still have GOP candidates blasting ObamaCare for damaging Medicare, when the changes made were part and parcel of the Paul Ryan budget, with the aim of assisting the long term sustainability of Medicare. And such changes would be part of any Rob Portman entitlement reform.
But fair entitlement reform is going to have be a little of this and a little of that to achieve the sustainability desired by all. So the politicians are going to have take on the AARP, which sends me regular emails protesting any discussion of the need to change the inflation reference in Social Security from a measure that includes Labor Productivity to one based solely on prices. This is worth, if I recall correctly, about 10% of what is needed for long term sustainability. The AARP protests that this is reducing benefits for current retirees. But it is only reducing the rate at which current benefits will increase. And why shouldn't current retirees contribute a little towards a long term fix for sustainability.
And means testing will have to still leave wealthy retirees with a benefit. They pay in and are just as entitled to a benefit as anyone else. One of the critical political support foundations for Social Security is every one participates in paying in and everyone gets a benefit. It is not welfare. And circumstances change. Someone who is wealthy this year, may spend down and not be wealthy in 10 years.
You can't raise the Medicare eligibility age without something like ObamaCare. People who retire before the Medicare eligibility age are in the individual health insurance market. And that market was dysfunctional before ObamaCare and would return to being dysfunctional if ObamaCare were repealed at Senator Portman suggests. The reality is that corporate America does not like to keep people over 55 on their payroll and actively works to shed those people. And people over 55 run into age discrimination routinely when they go out and seek new employment. That is reality and why so many people over 55 have left the labor force since 2009. They need access to affordable health insurance until they reach Medicare. Or they will go broke paying for the health insurance and end up on Medicaid. The GOP can protest this all they want, but at the end of the day, even the GOP has compassion and does not want homeless people dying in gutters. We need and already had a form of Universal Health Insurance before ObamaCare, it was simply ineffective at controlling costs and providing routine care because it was built around emergency rooms and required poverty.
Senator Portman also is correct on the need for tax reform. But he needs look no further than his fellow Ohioan, the House Majority Leader John Boehner who stuffed Dave Camps (R-Michigan) thoughtful plan for reducing tax rates and eliminating corporate and personal tax deductions. This is what Congress should be working on instead of trying to make President Obama a failed president.
I see Senator Schumer (D-NY) wants to make the California open primary, with the top 2 candidates from either party being in the final election, a national standard. I see the benefits of this but wonder if it wouldn't increase the craziness factor from states that are prone to extreme left or extreme right views. Perhaps we need more time to see what happens in California congressional districts over time. After all, Darrel Issa is a product of this system. And the most amazing thing about him, is how could an individual of such low intellect, become filthy rich and elected to Congress. This just proves I don't understand politics as well as I thought I did.
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